The Abia State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal affirmed Alex Otti’s election victory.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Okey Ahaiwe’s petitions against Otti were rejected by the court in the state capital of Umuahia.
The tribunal determined that Ahaiwe’s claim against Otti of the Labour Party (LP) lacked merit when it rendered its decision at about 1:20 p.m.
Otti’s election as governor by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been challenged by Ahaiwe.
Through his lawyer, Paul Ananaba, SAN, Ahaiwe had requested that the court remove Otti and declare him the winner, citing non-conformity with Section 77 of the Electoral Act, among other grievances. However, the tribunal dismissed all of Ahaiwe’s requests for lacking merit.
The Tribunal’s judgement elicited spontaneous jubilation among thousands of supporters of the LP who had travelled from various parts of the State. They danced in joy and celebration outside the Federal High Court complex.
In the meantime, the tribunal is currently presiding over the case brought by Ikechi Emenike of the APC against Otti. Emenike is seeking the removal of Governor Otti on the grounds that he failed to resign his membership from the APC prior to joining the LP.
Furthermore, the APC candidate in the gubernatorial election held on March 18th is alleging that Otti’s name was not included in the LP register during the election.
Quadri Olaitan is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, public affairs, and human-interest stories.
