The Abia State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has rejected the
judgment of the Abia State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which, Friday, affirmed the victory of Gov. Alex Otti.
APC in a statement by the State Chairman, Dr Kingsley Ononogbu, described the judgment as “a miscarriage of justice”.
“It is unacceptable and we reject it.
We condemn unequivocally the judgement of the tribunal”, the statement read.
The statement further read:”We have mandated our legal team to appeal the judgement of the tribunal.”
Meanwhile, Gov. Otti has extended olive branch to members of the opposition, urging them to sheath their swords, and help him rebuild Abia State.
Otti in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Kazie Uko said time had come for everybody to lay down their swords and unite for the good of Abia.
The Governor however, dedicated his victory at the tribunal to Abians, especially his teeming supporters in the state.
“My advise to my opponents is that this is a good time to sheath their swords and join hands with me to develop our state, Abia.
“Anyhow 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 follow 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 stated.
He thanked the jurists and all those who ensured that justice prevailed in the end. The Governor 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.
Recall that the tribunal headed by Justice H T. D Gwadah, had struck out all the applications by the Petitioners – Chief Okey Ahiwe of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP; and High Chief Ikechi Emenike of the All Progressives Congress, APC, saying they lacked merit.
The tribunal judgment was greeted with a spontaneous jubilation among the populace as people trooped to the streets to celebrate the victory in a manner akin to the earlier declaration of Otti as the winner of the governorship election on March 22.
Meanwhile, a former Chairman of the PDP in the state and one of its governorship aspirants, Senator Emma Nwaka, has congratulated Otti on the validation of his victory by the tribunal.
Senator Nwaka also urged the Petitioners to accept defeat and sheath their swords as a mark of their love for Abia.
He described the judgment as a true reflection of the wishes of the masses, and urged everyone to embrace peace.
“The judgment of the Abia State Election Tribunal delivered today in favour of Dr. Alex Otti of the Labour Party in the governorship tussle strikes me as a true reflection of the wishes of ndi Abia as expressed through their ballot.
“I congratulate Dr. Otti on his well deserved victory and urge him to be magnanimous in his governance approach. As for those who lost, I congratulate them on their gallant efforts and enjoin them at the same time to sheath their sword at this point and join hands with governor Alex Otti to lift Abia State, God’s own State from the quagmire of underdevelopment”.
The statement by the APC Chairman further read: Regrettably, the Abia Election Petition Tribunal could not brush-off or borrow courage to defeat intimidation in order to deliver justice as exemplified recently.
“We therefore, call on our teaming supporters, members of our party and good people of Abia to remain calm, keep faith in the judiciary and be of good courage as all hope is not lost.
“We will not be deterred by this temporary setback. We are confident that in the
end, justice and rule of law will prevail, having the knowledge that “Though the wheels of justice turn slowly, it grinds exceedingly fine”.