The Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the election of Alex Otti as the Governor of Abia state.
Justice Uwani Abba-Aji who read the lead judgment, held that the appellants failed to prove substantial non-compliance in their appeal.
On the issue of Otti’s membership, the appellant had contended that he wasn’t validly nominated and sponsored by the Labour Party (LP) at the time of the election. However, the appellate court held that the issue of membership is an internal affair and as such lacks jurisdiction.
The apex court faulted the appellants for bringing the appeal to the court, tagging it as frivolous and vexatious.
Alex Otti had scored 175,466 votes to defeat Okey Ahiwe of the PDP, who polled 88,529 votes in the election early last year.
Otti Hails Verdict
While reacting to the verdict, Otti renewed his resolve to give Abia State good governance and thanked President Bola Tinubu for his resolve to leave the judiciary independent.
“I want to thank His Excellency, the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu for remaining firm to the resolve that the judiciary should be independent.
“If he did not do that, perhaps, some of the judgments and verdicts that were given today may have been different.
“I want to encourage him to continue in that light. I believe that his nonintervention in the judiciary has produced positive results in the country today.
“A few places where people were getting ready to burn down places today have sheathed their swords because the rule of law prevailed,” Governor Otti noted.
Otti also called on residents of the state to team up and work for the good of Abia State irrespective of religious or political leanings.
Meanwhile,
The Supreme Court has upheld the election of Bassey Otu as the governor of Cross River State.
The apex court affirmed the judgement of the Court of Appeal which affirmed Otu as the winner of the March 18, 2023 governorship election in Cross River State.
The appellate court had in November 2023 dismissed the appeal filed by the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Sandy Onor, for lack of merit.
Onor had earlier suffered the same fate before the election petition tribunal on September 26, 2023.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Otu winner of the polls, having polled a total of 258,619 votes winning in 15 of the 18 local governments of the state to defeat his closest rival, Onor who garnered 179,636 votes.