The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State has rejected claims of an alleged alliance between the party, Governor Alex Otti and the Labour Party (LP) ahead of the 2027 general elections.

State APC Chairman Hon. Chijioke Chukwu made the position clear during a stakeholders’ meeting at the party secretariat in Umuahia. He said he had consulted key stakeholders across the state and could confirm that no such agreement or alliance exists.

Chukwu insisted the APC would not enter into any alliance with the Labour Party, which he accused of inflicting hardship on residents. He also criticised Governor Otti’s administration over alleged lack of accountability and the handling of government contracts.

He specifically dismissed reports that the party’s governorship candidate, Eric Opah, and other stakeholders had entered into an alliance with the Labour Party.

“If there is anybody that should know, I should be the one. I am the state chairman, and I have consulted the highest stakeholders in the state, and I want to tell you that there is no such unholy alliance, and there will never be,” Chukwu said.

The chairman further accused the Otti administration of inflating contracts and operating in a manner he compared to a military regime. He cited the suspension of a lecturer for expressing views as evidence of intolerance.

“A party that has claimed billions of naira in the name of school renovation. A party that is carrying out its activities as though we are in a military regime, where a lecturer will be suspended for airing his views. Are we in tyranny, are we in military regime? But we have a tyrant in Abia as the head of government,” he stated.

He added: “If the party must go into alliance, it is not going to be with such a tyrant. A party in a state that has not taken the issue of accountability seriously, contracts are being over-inflated.”

Chukwu urged party members to approach the 2027 elections as a united force and warned candidates against using APC tickets to negotiate with other parties.

“We need to go into the election as one strong body. If you think you have taken the ticket of this party for House of Assembly, and you are going to use it to negotiate, we are watching you,” he said.

He emphasised that any future negotiations by the APC would prioritise good governance, accountability and improved welfare for Abia residents, including payment of pensions and an acceptable minimum wage.

Expressing confidence in the party’s prospects, Chukwu said members would only benefit when they remained committed to the APC and when the party produced its own elected officials.

“I cannot sign an agreement where I as the state chairman will not be a beneficiary. I can only be a beneficiary when I have a governor that is APC, when I have a senator that is APC, when I have a House of Representatives member that is APC, when I have a House of Assembly member that is APC, likewise you,” he said.

At the same meeting, the party granted unconditional pardon to members facing disciplinary action, including Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia North) and Hon. Chris Nkwonta (Ukwa Federal Constituency), who had recently been suspended over alleged anti-party comments.