Alex Otti, governor of Abia State, has asserted that the rightful leadership selection process in Nigeria would always usher in an egalitarian society.
Otti made the assertion at Government House, Umuahia, when he received Rensola Abiola, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Citizenship and Leadership and her team.
He stressed on the importance of leadership in the society, adding that if leadership was not right, every other thing would fail.
“If you don’t get leadership right, then every other thing you do will fail, ” Otti said.
“Leadership is key and very critical. Of course, followership is important because it is the followership that selects leadership.
“So, if you make a mistake in your leadership selection process, you are going to live with it for as long as the tenure of that administration or the person that you selected subsists.
He said that everything his administration was doing in Abia was all about leadership and citizenship and would rely on the team to educate and get the young people involved.
Otti, who described the role played by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Citizenship and Leadership as very critical, assured her that the Abia State Government would work with her team.
“For us in Abia, we will work fully with you and give you every support in any way we can to ensure that you are successful in this assignment.
“I assure you that we will work with you because your agenda fits into our agenda,” Otti noted.
He used the opportunity to commiserate with President Bola Tinubu on the unfortunate demise of Lagbaja, Chief of Army Staff, which was announced earlier. He said that the death was a personal loss to him as the deceased was his friend.
Abiola, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Citizenship and Leadership, earlier in her speech, said that they were in Abia to intimate the governor on a programme tagged “Next Generation Project”, which is targeted at the next generation of young people in Nigeria.
She said that they partnered with the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to design the project, saying that the programme was aimed at enlightening young people on some issues including substance abuse as well help them develop their capabilities.
“We can all agree that when it comes to Nigeria, the issue of good leadership and good citizenship are two things that need to be balanced.
“We are focused on youth leadership development, youth reorientation, youth engagement and we are partnering with the National Orientation Agency.
“We understand that Nigerian youths are very dynamic, versatile, gifted, skilled and enterprising but at the same time our people need to be engaged and talked to. So, a lot of young people are into these vices without understanding the implications and how it might affect them.
“We want to talk to them and we want to enlighten them so that they can also take the message further to their peers. So, this is what the project is about, to enlighten our young people,” Abiola stated.
Nwaobilor Ananaba, Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Goodluck Ubochi, Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, among others, were present during the occasion.
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