On Friday, the Supreme Court affirmed the election of Alex Otti as the duly elected governor of Abia, dismissing the appeal against Otti’s victory. Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, delivering the judgment, declared the appeal by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as lacking in merit.
Daily Post reported that the appeals were filed against Otti, who secured his election under the Labour Party (LP), by the PDP candidate, Chief Okey Ahiwe, and the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Chief Ikechi Emenike.
Otti’s victory was initially declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), stating that he garnered 175,466 votes, defeating his closest rival, Ahiwe of the PDP, who secured 88,529 votes in the gubernatorial poll held on March 18, 2023.
Following their dissatisfaction with the election outcome, Ahiwe and Emenike separately contested it. However, on October 6, 2023, the Abia State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal dismissed the petitions and upheld Otti’s election. The Court of Appeal in Lagos subsequently affirmed the tribunal’s decision, dismissing appeals filed by both the PDP and APC candidates against Otti.