Two Men from the private sector whose ambition was to be the Governor of their states. Alex Otti was the ex-CEO of Diamond Bank, a naira Billionaire in his own rights, same with Tonye Cole who is the Co founder of Sahara Group and also a naira Billionaire in his own right.
In October 2014, Alex Otti left his position as CEO of Diamond Bank and contested for the Position of Governor of Abia State.
In his sojourn as the Gubernatorial Candidate of APGA in 2015 and 2019, and with Labour Party in 2023, Alex Otti was the Major financier of those political parties.
Alex Otti despite losing in 2015 and 2019, never disappeared from the political scene of the state. His name was always on the lips of every Abian.
Alex Otti had his own political structure who moved with him, from APGA to APC and then the Labour Party.
This is the reason why he has no Godfather, because in the Alex Otti Political Family he is the highest shareholder. Due to his persistency and investment and when Abians got tired of the PDP in the State, they made sure he became their governor because for 8 years he has always been seen as the man who can offer them something new.
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In Rivers State Tonye Cole left Sahara Group in August 2018 to run for the Governor of the state. He joined the APC that was led by Rotimi Amaechi and rode on his influence to get the 2019 Gubernatorial ticket, even though he wasn’t a candidate in the election due to court judgement.
In 2023, he also got the ticket based on Amaechi’s influence and money, but lost to SIM Fubara of the PDP in the Election.
In all these two election cycles, Tonye didn’t spend out of his billions. Tonye Cole has no structure or people that belong to his political family.
In 2027, Rivers people will need an alternative to the candidates the APC and PDP will present. The ADC and NDC are there, but Tonye Cole doesn’t want to spend money out of his billions to mobilise and set up his structure.
He wants to always get the ticket of the APC on a platter of gold, but this time he’s going nowhere. It’s only in Tonye Cole’s case that he wants to reap where he didn’t sow.
John Kpoobari Didi
