The Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, has dismissed the petition filed by the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Okechukwu Ahaiwe, challenging the election of Governor Alex Otti.

The tribunal also declared Otti, who contested the election under the platform of the Labour Party (LP), as the duly elected governor of Abia State.

The three-member panel, in its judgement read by Justice G.T.D Gwada, on Friday, October 6, 2023, dismissed the three grounds raised by the petitioner for lacking merit.

The tribunal, in a unanimous decision, held that the petitioners failed in their attempt to convince the panel that the election was marred by irregularities and not conducted in substantial compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022, beyond reasonable doubt.

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Justice Gwada stated that the issue of whether Otti was qualified to contest or the LP’s governorship primary election was not duly conducted “were entirely party affairs and, therefore, the tribunal lacked the jurisdiction”.

The tribunal also held that the petitioners were unable to prove beyond reasonable doubt, their allegations that Otti did not score the majority of the lawful votes cast and that the election was marred by corrupt practices and irregularities.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Otti, who was the Managing Director of the defunct Diamond Bank (acquired by Access Bank), polled 175,467 votes to defeat Ahaiwe who scored 88,529 votes in the March 18 gubernatorial election in Abia State.

The Star