“Retire From Pouring Libation and Soothsayer Business” —The Abia Patriots Warns Charles Ogbonna

A Civil Society Organization, The Abia Patriots, TAP, on Thursday expressed dismay over a viral video of a popular Abia politician, Chief Charles Ogbonna, popularly known as “Evulogu Ibeku”, pouring libation and asking the gods of Ibeku land to stop Governor Alex Otti of Abia State from winning the 2027 governorship election.

Reacting to the video on Thursday, TAP in a statement endorsed by its Secretary General Mazi Adindu Madumere, expressed deep concern over Chief Ogbonna’s action, noting that this, according to TAP is not the first time Chief Ogbonna towed that line.

The group recalled that in the build up to the 2023 elections, Chief Ogbonna who then was a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, did the same, where he invoked the gods of Ibeku land to block any Ngwa Man from winning the Governor ship election in Abia State.

“The Abia Patriots have noted with concern yet another viral video showing Chief Charles Obioha Ogbonnaya, Evulogu Ibeku, pouring libation and praying that Governor Dr. Alex Otti will not return in 2027”.

“This is not the first time. Before the 2023 elections, the same Chief Ogbonnaya, then a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, was captured in a viral video pouring libation and declaring that “no Ngwa man will govern Abia in 2023”. He petitioned the gods of Ibeku land to block the emergence of Dr. Alex Otti, an Ngwa son”.

“The gods of Ibeku that were invoked with libation either did not hear, did not care, or had no power to act. The inability of these libations to stop what the people had determined is explained by a truth older than Ibeku tradition: “Power belongs absolutely to God”.No amount of drink poured on the ground, no incantation to ancestral spirits, can override the will of the Almighty. The gods of wood and stone are deaf and powerless where the living God has ordained a matter”.

The statement further pointed out what it described as “the inconsistency” in Chief Ogbonnaya’s recent APC libation, that after pouring drink to an idol god, he concluded the prayer with the name of Jesus Christ.

“We also note the inconsistency in Chief Ogbonnaya’s recent APC libation. After pouring drink to an idol god, he concluded the prayer with the name of Jesus Christ. You cannot petition a local deity and then call on the name of Jesus as if both are equal. Scripture is clear: _“You shall have no other gods before me”_. This syncretism mocks both the Christian faith and traditional practice. It shows a man trying to straddle two worlds and finding no ground in either”.

“In 2023, Chief Ogbonnaya stood against Dr. Otti when the Governor was relatively unknown politically. He failed. Today in 2026, he is standing against the same man, now an incumbent with a record of fiscal transparency and infrastructure delivery that earned Abia 4th place in BudgIT’s State Performance Report. If his gods could not stop Dr. Otti when he was starting, they should tell him it will be even harder to dethrone a Governor whose work the people can see”.

“The Abia Patriots advise Chief Charles Ogbonnaya to retire honourably from this unprofitable soothsayer business. The season of using libation to determine the political destiny of Abia people is over. He should desist from exposing the apparent foibles of his gods and rather respect the sovereignty of the Almighty God”.

“Instead of seeking to curse what is working, he should think of how to contribute to the progress Abia State is witnessing under Governor Otti. Elders are meant to build, not to hinder”.

“Statesmanship demands that when the people have chosen a direction, even opponents put the interest of the state above personal vendettas.
Abia is moving forward. No libation, no prayer to deaf idols, will reverse it”.