From Okey Sampson, Okey Sampson, Umuahia
A member of the Board of Trustees (BoT) and National Caucus of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Prince Benjamin Apugo has congratulated Governor Alex Otti over the Supreme Court’s affirmation of his election victory, saying Abia was out from Hell fire.
In her ruling last Friday on the appeal brought before it by the candidates of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Okey Ahiwe and that All Progressives Congress (APC), Ikechi Emenike against the declaration of Alex Otti as winner of the March 18 Governorship election in Abia State, the apex court held that Otti was duly elected.
The apex court stated specifically that the PDP and it’s candidate, Ahiwe, lacked the right to contest the nomination of Otti by Labour Party (LP), as it is an internal party affair.
Speaking in Umuahia at the weekend, Apugo said his joy knew no bounds over Otti’s Supreme Court victory.
The APC bigwig said he was not surprised at the court’s ruling, saying, since Abians overwhelmingly voted for Otti during the election, that the apex court did the needful by affirming the wishes of the people.
He said he would have been surprised if the judgment had gone the other way round, since according to him, even those who took Otti to court knew Abians did not want nor voted for them.
“I was not in any way surprised at the court’s ruling. Since Abians overwhelmingly voted for Otti during the election, I believe the apex court just did the needful by affirming the wishes of the people.
“To be frank, I would have been surprised if the judgment had gone the other way round. I am saying this because even those who took Otti to court knew Abians did not want nor voted for them.”
Apugo was of the view that nobody in the state who realized that Abia had been in hell fire over the years as a result of bad governance, should be happy with Otti’s election and its affirmation by the Supreme Court.