Doris Ogala has challenged Apostle Johnson Suleman over his praise of Abia Governor Alex Otti, disputing claims about 24-hour electricity and warning that she could release evidence about the cleric.
ABUJA, NIGERIA — Actress and African Action Congress governorship aspirant Doris Ogala has confronted Apostle Johnson Suleman over his recent comments praising Abia State Governor Alex Otti, accusing the cleric of making political claims about the state that do not reflect residents’ experiences.
Ogala, who is preparing to contest the 2027 Abia governorship election, also questioned Suleman’s assessment of Otti’s administration and warned that she could make public information she claimed to have about the cleric.
Suleman recently praised Otti’s administration, describing the governor as evidence that good governance is possible and suggesting that Otti could secure a second term without much campaigning.
Ogala reacted through a series of posts on Instagram, challenging the cleric over his assessment of developments in Abia and questioning his claim about electricity supply in the state.
Newstridez reviewed the latest comments alongside Ogala’s previous statements on Abia and found that her criticism of the electricity claim is consistent with her earlier public position. In August, she had also rejected claims of 24-hour power in the state, saying residents were experiencing a different situation.
Ogala specifically challenged the suggestion that Abia has achieved 24-hour electricity.
The politician has previously made the same argument while campaigning for the governorship, saying unreliable power remains one of the major challenges facing businesses and residents in the state.
In an earlier interview, she said:
“There is no 24-hour light in Abia.”
Ogala said her assessment was based on what she described as the situation on the ground, rather than claims made online.
Her latest response came after Suleman publicly praised Otti and his administration.
According to Legit.ng, Ogala questioned whether Suleman had personally visited Abia recently and challenged his basis for making claims about conditions in the state.
The disagreement has now shifted from a debate about governance to a broader political exchange involving a cleric and a governorship aspirant.
Ogala also questioned Suleman’s claim that his comments about Otti were not political.
She argued that praising a sitting governor ahead of the 2027 election could amount to political support, particularly when the governor is expected to seek another term.
The AAC politician is herself preparing for the 2027 governorship contest and has repeatedly criticised Otti’s administration.
Earlier in July, Ogala rejected a ₦150 million campaign advertising permit introduced by the Abia State Structures for Signages and Advertising Agency.
She described the fee as a barrier to opposition candidates and alleged that the policy was targeted at her political campaign. The agency, however, said the fee applied to political parties generally and had been discussed at a stakeholders’ meeting.
Checks by Newstridez showed that Ogala’s disagreement with Otti is not new and predates her latest exchange with Suleman. She has previously criticised the administration over electricity, infrastructure and other issues while presenting herself as a challenger ahead of 2027.
The more serious part of Ogala’s latest response was her warning that she could expose Suleman if he continued with what she considered inaccurate claims.
She alleged that she knew details about an encounter involving the cleric at a hotel in Lagos and referred to specific details about the alleged meeting.
However, the details of the alleged hotel encounter have not been independently verified, and Newstridez has not found reliable evidence establishing the claims as fact.
Ogala said she was prepared to produce what she described as evidence if the dispute continued.
“I speak with evidence,” she wrote, according to Legit.ng’s report on her posts.
She also challenged the cleric to respond to her allegations, saying she was prepared to defend her position.
The warning has since added another layer to what began as a disagreement over the performance of the Abia State Government.
Suleman has previously spoken openly about Nigerian politics and government performance.
In April, the cleric questioned President Bola Tinubu’s proposed second-term bid, arguing that political leaders should be judged by their performance in office.
He also said he was not a member of any political party and maintained that he would praise government when it performed well and criticise it when it failed.
That background is relevant to the latest controversy because Suleman has publicly presented his political comments as criticism or praise based on performance rather than party affiliation.
His latest comments about Otti, however, have been interpreted differently by Ogala because the governor is a political figure preparing for another election.
Ogala is seeking to become Abia governor in 2027 under the African Action Congress.
She has said her political ambition is driven by what she describes as the need to improve living conditions in the state.
Speaking in an interview in August, she said Abia residents were facing hardship and identified electricity and infrastructure among the areas requiring attention.
She also said her experience working in the previous administration had given her knowledge of some of the projects now being credited to the current government.
The claims have been part of her wider criticism of Otti as the 2027 political contest begins to take shape.
Data reviewed by Newstridez indicates that the disagreement over electricity is now one of the clearest policy points separating Ogala’s public criticism from Suleman’s praise of Otti. Ogala says the state does not have 24-hour electricity, while Suleman has publicly praised the administration in terms that Ogala disputes.
The two positions should be distinguished from independently verified measurements of electricity supply across Abia, which were not provided in the reports reviewed for this story.
The exchange quickly attracted reactions on social media.
Some commenters questioned why Ogala appeared particularly concerned about Suleman’s comments, while others focused on the broader question of whether religious leaders should publicly praise politicians during an election period.
Others urged caution over the allegations involving the cleric, pointing out that claims made on social media should not automatically be treated as established facts.
The latest dispute has also drawn attention because Ogala has previously been involved in public controversies involving other clerics.
In an earlier case, she faced legal proceedings connected to allegations involving Pastor Chris Okafor, with a court previously restraining her from publishing specified material concerning the cleric while the case was pending.
That history does not establish the truth or otherwise of her current allegations against Suleman, but it provides context for why her latest warning is attracting wider attention.
The immediate issue is whether Ogala will release the evidence she says she has concerning Suleman.
As at the time of filing this report, no independent verification of the alleged hotel incident had been established, and the latest reports reviewed did not contain a substantive response from Suleman directly addressing Ogala’s new allegations.
The disagreement also places the cleric’s praise of Otti under renewed political scrutiny as Abia moves towards the 2027 governorship election.
For now, Ogala continues to challenge the governor’s record while Suleman has publicly praised Otti’s administration. The two positions reflect a growing political debate in Abia, with electricity, governance and the role of public figures becoming part of the conversation ahead of the election.
As the 2027 contest draws closer, the claims made by both politicians and public figures will need to be separated from allegations that remain unverified. Ogala’s warning has raised the stakes, but any further evidence she releases would need to be independently examined before the claims can be established.
I know a lot about you that would shock the world. I know what happened at Protea Hotel Lagos — Actress Doris Ogala calls out Pastor Suleman Johnson pic.twitter.com/0zlewaZCuW
— Instablog9ja (@instablog9ja) September 22, 2026
