Supreme Court upholds election of Otti as Abia governor

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Okey Ahiwe, and his counterpart in the All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief Ikechi Emenike had lodged an appeal against Otti, who won his election on the platform of the Labour Party, LP.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared that Otti polled 175,466 votes to defeat his closest rival, Ahiwe of the PDP, who polled 88,529 votes in the gubernatorial poll that was held on March 18, 2023.

The duo, Ahiwe and Emenike of the APC, who came in second and third respectively were not satisfied with the result and challenged it earlier at the Abia State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal which dismissed the petitions and upheld Otti’s election victory in a judgement delivered on October 6, 2023.

The verdict of the tribunal was affirmed by the Court of Appeal in Lagos, which also dismissed appeals that were filled against Otti by both the PDP and APC candidates.