PDP loses as court upholds Gov Otti’s election in Abia

The Abia State election petition tribunal, situated in Umuahia, has ruled on a case presented by Okey Ahaiwe, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), against Governor Alex Otti.

The tribunal, which delivered its judgement at approximately 1:20 pm today, has dismissed three grounds of prayers brought forward by Ahaiwe, citing a lack of merit in the case.

Ahaiwe had contested the declaration of Otti as the duly elected governor by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Through his lawyer, Paul Ananaba, SAN, Ahaiwe urged the court to remove Otti from office and declare him the rightful winner, arguing that Otti’s electoral victory did not align with Section 77 of the Electoral Act and raised several other concerns.

However, the tribunal rejected all of Ahaiwe’s requests, deeming them lacking in merit.

Simultaneously, the tribunal is currently addressing another case filed by Ikechi Emenike of the APC against Otti. Emenike is urging the tribunal to remove Governor Otti from office, alleging that Otti did not resign his membership from the APC before joining the LP.

Emenike further contends that Otti’s name was not in the LP register during the guber election on March 18. Stay tuned for further updates on this developing story.