A stakeholder in Abia state, Chief Sunny Ikeokwu has congratulated the state Governor, Sir Alex Otti over his resounding victory at the Supreme Court.
In a statement made available to media houses, he described the victory as a confirmation of the overwhelming support given to him by the people of Abia state.
Chief Ikeokwu commended the Supreme Court for allowing the will of the people to prevail.
He opined that having exploited all legal avenues of stopping the choice of Governor Otti by Abians and failed, the opposition parties should acknowledge the obvious fact that the election of the governor has divine endorsement and joyfully join the rest of Abia people in this divine mandate.
Recall that the Supreme Court affirmed the election of Alex Otti as the governor of Abia State in the March 18, 2023 governorship election.
In its lead judgement that was read by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, the apex court held that the appeals of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Okey Ahiwe, and his counterpart in the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Ikechi Emenike, brought before it lacked merit.
The apex court held that there was no legal basis to tamper with the concurrent findings of the Abia State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, which earlier upheld Otti’s election.
According to the apex court, the argument of the appellants that Otti was not a bona fide member of the Labour Party (LP) at the time the governorship election was held was immaterial in the face of Section 177(c) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
It held that since Otti did not stand for the election as an independent candidate, there was no doubt that he was nominated and sponsored by a political party.
The court waved aside the contention that Otti’s name was not on the membership list of his party.
