Supreme Court Dismisses PDP Appeal, Upholds Alex Otti’s Election as Abia Governor

The Supreme Court has upheld the election of Alex Otti as the rightful governor of Abia State, dismissing an appeal against his victory. Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, delivering the judgement, ruled that the appeal by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lacked merit.

The appeals were filed against Otti, who won the election on the Labour Party (LP) platform, by Okey Ahiwe of the PDP and Ikechi Emenike of the All Progressives Congress (APC). According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Otti secured 175,466 votes, defeating his closest rival, Mr. Ahiwe, who scored 88,529 votes in the gubernatorial poll held on March 18, 2023.

Following their dissatisfaction with the election outcome, Ahiwe and Emenike separately challenged it. However, on October 6, 2023, the Abia State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal dismissed their petitions and upheld Otti’s victory. This decision was subsequently affirmed by the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal, which also dismissed appeals against Otti’s election victory by both the PDP and APC candidates.

The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Otti’s election victory has settled the legal disputes surrounding the Abia State gubernatorial election, affirming Otti as the legitimate governor. This ruling has significant implications for the political landscape in Abia State and is likely to impact the governance and development agenda of the state.

Peoples Gazette