Back Your Support For Otti With PVC, Ajagba Tells Keke Operators

As ASTOPU holds solidarity rally for Otti’s re-election

UMUAHIA — Chief of Staff to Abia State Governor, Pastor Caleb Ajagba, has urged commercial tricycle operators in state to translate their support for Governor Alex Otti into concrete action by picking their Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs.

Ajagba the made call on Friday while addressing members of Abia State Tricycle Operators Union, ASTOPU, who staged solidarity rally to Government House, Umuahia, in support of Otti’s re-election.

Chief of staff to Abia State Governor Pastor Caleb Ajagba

He thanked the operators for faith, solidarity and support for the administration, describing them as grassroots-based and truthful, not given to propaganda.

“If others could be termed emotional, not members of ASTOPU, because you say things the way they are. You are dealing with very grassroots, rural populace. Where other transport segments cannot get to, you will get there. So you are in touch with grassroots,” Ajagba said.

He said unlike past when operators protested and blocked roads over bad governance, current rally shows government is different and responsive to prayers of people.

“I believe you trusted God. You looked unto God. And God saw your cries. Anytime God wants to change destiny of a people, he sends a man. Alex Otti is sent,” he said.

Ajagba said man who wiped off tears of Abians within three years is right man to continue, but support must be concrete through voter registration and PVC collection which started Thursday.

“The best way to demonstrate that you are with Alex Otti is to go and pick your PVC,” he said.

He took swipe at previous administrations, saying those who created bad roads, dilapidated hospitals and schools in 24 years are now claiming they can do better.

“What they could not do within 24 years, this man came and did it within three years. You cannot give what you don’t have. If they had solution, they would not have created problems,” he said.

He said some former office holders who never went to church or entered keke before have now started doing so as political strategy, urging operators not to argue with them but to argue with PVC.

“Anywhere they come and begin to argue, don’t argue with them. Argue with your PVC,” Ajagba said, assuring operators of more dividends of democracy including good roads.

Dr. Chimezie Isaac Ukaegbu, Abia State Commissioner for Transport

Also speaking, the commissioner for Transport Dr Chimezie Isaac Ukaegbu said Governor Alex Otti has done a lot in the transport ecosystem including construction and maintenance of roads, building of the modern bus terminal, the electric buses as well as the ongoing airport project.

Ukaegbu urged the operators to keep working hard to improve their services as well as continue to obey traffic rules and regulations.

Earlier, Chairman of ASTOPU, Umuahia Zone, Comrade Chinweotito Godson Appolos, said the solidarity march was in support of the re-election bid of Governor Alex Otti, while also endorsing him as their sole candidate for 2027 governorship election.

He said they were motivated by visible improvements in governance under Otti, particularly in road construction which has eased their transportation operations and reduced cost of maintaining tricycles.

According to him, unlike in the past when poor road conditions frequently forced operators to take tricycles to mechanics for repairs, an improved road network had reduced such challenges.

The ASTOPU chairman assured the Governor that the union’s thousands of members would support his re-election bid and vote for him and other Labour Party candidates in next year’s elections.