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…Urges opposition to sheath swords, join him to rebuild state
From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Governor Alex Otti has dedicated his victory at the Governorship Tribunal to the people of Abia state, assuring that the victory would spur him to serve the people with greater zeal and passion as a way of appreciating their show of love and unflinching solidarity.
This is even as he has extended the olive branch to the opposition political parties in the state, particularly the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC), asking them to join forces with him in the task of rebuilding Abia. Governor Otti said this is a good time for the opposition parties to sheathe their swords and join hands with him to develop the state.
Otti said although he never entertained any atom of fear over the suit filed against him by candidates of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Okey Ahiwe and All Progressives Congress (APC), Ikechi Emenike going by the landslide victory he recorded at the polls, coupled with the sound submissions made by his team of lawyers to defend his victory, that he was however moved by the unprecedented show of love, support and solidarity from Abians.
Governor Otti thanked the judges for their sound judgement which reflected what happened at the polls and what majority of the people truly expected, and maintained that nothing enriches the legal jurisprudence and strengthens democracy more than dispensing justice to those that deserve it.
The Abia State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Umuahia had on Friday affirmed the election of Governor Alex Otti of Labour Party, dismissing petitions filed by PDP’s Ahiwe and APC’s Emenike.
The PDP and APC had in separate petitions, approached the tribunal demanding the withdrawal of the certificate of return issued to Otti by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) stressing that Otti was never qualified in the first place to run for the election, that he did not get the highest vote cast and that the election was marred by corrupt practices.
While explaining why Otti was not qualified to participate in the election, they stressed that he did not participate in any known primary, and did not submit any evidence of membership of LP to INEC which completely means that he was not a member of LP before and during the election and therefore was not supposed to be sponsored by LP.
They equally petitioned the tribunal seeking the withdrawal of Otti’s certificate of return, alleging that he did not submit a piece of legally acceptable evidence that he duly participated in the one-year compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), among other grounds.
In a 9-hour judgment, the tribunal led by Justice H.T.D Gwadah said such issues about primary and nomination of candidates were internal affairs of the party and that the tribunal lacked jurisdiction to entertain them.
Describing the petitioners as meddlesome Interlopers for trying to interfere in the internal affairs of Labour Party, the tribunal said, “You cannot belong to a particular family and decides what happens in another family.”
On NYSC, the court said that no evidence was provided as pleading isn’t evidence. The court said that the lack of evidence on that makes the petition not hold any issue.
The tribunal re-emphasized that only evidence brought on pleaded fact stands. “NYSC is not a qualifying or a disqualifying factor”, it said.
On the issue of over-voting, the tribunal stated that he who alleges must prove, stressing that no evidence was shown by the PDP or APC for noncompliance by INEC as all exhibits never proved the allegation as claimed by the parties.
The tribunal further said that both the PDP and APC did not prove the case of over-voting as required by the law in all the polling units they alleged that such a case took place.
The allegation by the PDP that results of Obingwa Local Government were taken to Abuja and doctored, the tribunal said no evidence of such was shown as the petitioners were unable to prove their allegation.
Reacting to the judgement, one of the lead counsels of PDP, Chukwuemeka Nwogu said that the trial tribunal has discharged its duties in accordance with the law.
Governor Otti while reacting to the judgment of the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, said: “My advise to my opponents is that this is a good time to sheathe their swords and join hands with me to develop our state, Abia.
“Any how you slice and dice it, it costs a lot of money to engage in litigation. While I will not ask them to bring the money to me, I would advise that each of them have villages that are dilapidating without roads, without water, and I believe that their communities will appreciate it if they would channel those resources to building roads in their villages and communities,” he said.
Governor Otti said the resources spent by his opponents in prosecuting the litigation could be used in providing pipe borne water and ensuring that Abia remains peaceful for the benefit of its residents.
He said that the victory should not have been contested in the first place and expressed joy that the wishes of the people have come to pass.
“If you followed the election and everything that happened thereafter, you would know that quite frankly this victory shouldn’t have been contested in the first place, but then, I also do not deny my opponents their rights to go to court,” the governor said.
He thanked the jurists and all those who ensured that justice prevailed in the end. Otti also thanked God for the victory and pledged to continue to serve Abians diligently, describing the victory as a reflection of the sacrifice made by Ndi Abia in the 2023 Governorship election.
The Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, sitting in Umuahia, had earlier on Friday dismissed the petitions of the PDP and APC, and their candidates, Okechukwu Ahaiwe and Ikechi Emenike, respectively, challenging the electoral victory of Governor Otti of the Labour Party (LP).
The three-member panel in the seven-hour judgement struck out the petitions for being incompetent and lacking in merit.
The judgment, which was delivered inside the Federal High Courtroom under heavy security, sparked off spontaneous jubilation among the populace in the streets of Aba, Umuahia
