Supreme Court Upholds Alex Otti’s Election As Abia Governor

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the election of Alex Otti as the duly elected governor of Abia.

Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, in delivering the judgment, rejected the appeal against Otti’s victory, stating that the PDP’s appeal lacked merit.

The appeals were filed against Otti, who won on the Labour Party (LP) platform, by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Chief Okey Ahiwe, and his All Progressives Congress (APC) counterpart, Chief Ikechi Emenike

Recall that in the gubernatorial poll conducted on March 18, 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Otti victorious with 175,466 votes, surpassing his closest rival, Ahiwe of the PDP, who secured 88,529 votes

Displeased with the election results, both Ahiwe and Emenike of the APC, who came in third, separately challenged it.

However, in a judgment delivered on October 6, 2023, the Abia State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal dismissed the petitions and upheld Otti’s election victory

The Court of Appeal in Lagos upheld the tribunal’s decision, rejecting appeals against Otti filed by both the PDP and APC candidates

Kanyi Daily recalls that the Court of Appeal in Lagos had affirmed the election of Abia State Governor, Alex Otti