Dr. Alex Otti, the incoming governor of Abia State, has been advised to reverse his decision to invite General Yakubu Gowon to lead an inaugural prayer before being sworn in. Gowon is a prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the former deputy chairman of Bende Local Government Area.
In a statement made available to DAILY POST on Thursday, Okoro stated that the handlers of the incoming governor of Abia State, Otti, must take into account the sentiments of Abians and Ndigbo to prevent the bad fallout it would bring to them.
He was perplexed as to why the Abia State Governor and his staff couldn’t locate a respected local cleric to conduct prayer preceding Otti’s inauguration rather than bringing in the former Head of State.
A non-governmental organisation called Nigeria Prays is organising the prayer, which is titled “When the Righteous Are in Authority.”
According to a statement from Apostle Chuks Alozie, the Abia State Coordinator of Nigeria Prays, the rally for the organisation founded by former head of state Gen. Dr. Yakubu Gowon would take place at the Master’s Vessel Church in Umuahia on Sunday, April 23, 2023.
Alozie based his allusion to the rally on Proverbs 29:2 in the Bible. Alozie also revealed that the vice chancellor of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike (MOUAU), Prof. Madu Ofo Iwe, will be the guest speaker at the event. Dr. Alex Otti, a former head of state and the incoming governor of Abia State, is one of the special guests expected to deliver talks at the prayer rally.
Okoro, who disapproved of Gowon’s invitation, called it “insensitive to the feelings of the people,” and he added that the organisers’ actions would profoundly hurt their feelings.
He questioned whether “there is no man of God in all of Abia State and Igbo land, which should require the invitation of Gowon, a man who is yet to right the wrongs of the civil war.”
Okoro advised Otti’s managers to avoid making what he called “fundamental errors” from the beginning.
