The Abia State Governor-elect, Dr Alex Otti on Monday said the mandate of the people which he received in the March 18 governorship election is sacrosanct.

He called on the people of the state not to be dismayed over the recent judgement of the Federal High Court sitting in Kano State which dismissed his candidacy in the governorship election.

Otti stated this while receiving the report from the Abia Transition Council Chairman, Dr. Victor Onyemkpa in Aba, the state’s commercial nerve centre where he reaffirmed that everything is going according to plan for his scheduled inauguration on May 29.

“I would like to reassure you that the mandate Abia people gave us is sacrosanct,” Otti said. “Nobody should lose sleep; we will be sworn in on the 29th of May.” The governor-elect, who was speaking publicly for the first time since last Friday’s court ruling, reassured the Abia people that the judgement should not in any way be cause for alarm.

Receiving the report from Onyemkpa, Otti assured the public of a full implementation of the report and commended the committee members for working “tirelessly” to ensure that a template for the new administration was produced.

Earlier, a member of the transition council, Amobi Ogah, said part of its findings was that the state was in a deep rot and advised the Abia governor-elect to ensure that he appoints competent hands who are performance-driven.

Describing Abia as a decayed state, Ogah is confident that the administration of Alex Otti will turn around the fortunes of the south-eastern state for the benefit of the people.

“Abia is seen to be a decayed state, a lot needs to be done. The members of the committee have done a very wonderful job,” he said.