Otti Seals Tinubu’s Campaign Office, Unseals Hours Later

Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, on Tuesday ordered the sealing of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Partners office in Umuahia over ground rent unpaid since 1982, only to reverse the decision the same day after a direct appeal from Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu.

Ministry of Lands and Housing officials arrived at No. 36 Ojike Lane before 8 a.m. on November 25, 2025, and locked the gate with red ribbons. A notice cited violations of Sections 41 and 100 of Abia State Tax Law No. 7 of 2020 and warned that breaking the seal was a criminal offence.

The building, renovated in June 2025 by Renewed Hope Partners — a Tinubu support group led in the zone by Kalu — had been a derelict structure for over three decades. The lease on the land expires December 31, 2025.

Renewed Hope Partners spokesman Elton Onwu immediately labelled the action “political vendetta.” He noted the group received no prior demand notice and pointed to an earlier revocation of Abia Hotels’ C-of-O days after it hosted an RHP event. By Tuesday afternoon, the seal was gone.

Governor Otti’s spokesman Ukoha Njoku, confirmed the governor personally ordered the unsealing after Kalu reached out. “The enforcement was part of a general exercise; 82 other properties were sealed the same day. Churches, hospitals and schools were exempted,” Njoku said. “Following the intervention, the governor directed immediate unsealing pending regularisation of the papers.”

The ministry insists demand notices had been served on the original landowner for years and a court order was obtained before the task force moved in.