Former Abia State governor and senator representing Abia North, Orji Uzor Kalu, has dismissed Governor Alex Otti’s political influence, saying the Labour Party (LP) chieftain overrates himself and could not have won the 2023 governorship election without the backing of key political stakeholders.

Kalu, in a statement issued on Tuesday by his media aide, George Maduka, maintained that he remains fully committed to delivering Abia State to the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The lawmaker’s remarks followed Otti’s declaration on Monday that he would support the Labour Party’s candidate in Abia North to unseat Kalu in the 2027 senatorial election.

Otti made the statement while responding to Kalu’s earlier vow to ensure that the APC takes over Abia State in 2027.

Reacting, Kalu said the APC remains united and solid in Abia, insisting there is no factional crisis within the party. He alleged that the Labour Party under Otti’s leadership is the one grappling with internal disarray.

According to him, several local government chairmen elected on the platform of the LP have since defected or are operating from other political platforms, including the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and the Young Progressives Party (YPP).

The former governor also challenged Otti to deny visiting his residence in Igbere, his hometown, late at night on the eve of the 2023 governorship election.

“If I was politically irrelevant, why did he visit my house on the night before the election?” Kalu queried.

He further recalled that prominent figures in the Labour Party’s 2023 campaign, including Umeh Kalu (SAN), who served as the party’s state coordinator, held consultations with him.

Kalu argued that such engagements contradict Otti’s claim of political self-sufficiency.

The senator also challenged the governor to confront him directly rather than issuing responses through media aides.

Reaffirming his political ambition, Kalu said he remains determined to deliver Abia State to the APC at all levels in 2027, adding that he would do so “without apology or pretence.