The Labour Party on Friday dismissed reports on the Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, planned defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The LP National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, made the clarification in a chat with journalists in Abuja.
He was reacting to reports that at least five first term governors from the opposition have concluded plans to join the APC before the elections.
The governors listed in the reports are Otti, Peter Mba (Enugu), Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), Siminalayi Fubara (Rivers), and Umoh Eno (Akwa Ibom).
But Ifoh insisted that the reports were farther from the truth.
He said: “It is a mere rumour and I hope it remains so. For us in the Labour Party, we are in touch with our governor, Dr. Alex Otti and he has assured us that he is not going anywhere, ahead of 2027.
“We believe that he will stay with us, irrespective of some of the issues which we are working hard to resolve.
“The courts have come up several times to interpret as regards Section 84 of the 1999 Constitution and many people who had defected at one time or the other had been challenged in court.
“So, if five governors are planning to defect, it won’t be a new thing, as it had happened in the past.”
