THE People’s Democratic Party’s Abia State branch today announced that it would appeal Alex otti’s election petition tribunal declaration as the state’s next governor.
The Independent National Electoral Commission declared Otti, the Labour Party candidate for governor on March 18, 2023, the victor after he received a total of 175,467 votes, defeating his close ally and PDP candidate Okey Ahiwe, who received 88,529 votes.
In spite of the fact that governor Okezie Ikpeazu congratulated Otti and urged the candidates who lost the election to not contest the results in order to prevent distractions for the incoming governor, the PDP State Working Committee took a different stance.
Abraham Amah, the acting state publicity secretary and vice chairman of the Abia PDP, announced in a statement that the party would contest the results of the election in six local government areas where the BIVAS machine allegedly wasn’t used to register voters.
The statement read, “The Abia PDP State Working Committee and the enlarged State Executive Committee met today and reviewed the results after collecting all the materials used in the conduct of the just concluded governorship and state House of Assembly elections and has decided to go to court to challenge the results of the Abia guber election, especially in six local government areas where the BIVAS machines were not used.
It added that “the decision is coming on the heels of members of the Labour Party taking its our candidates that won elections to court despite the honest and wise advise and appeal of the Abia state governor Okezie Ikpeazu, that the winners of the election including the governor-elect, Alex Otti should be spared the burden of litigation which only serves to distract public officers from performing their duties and responsibilities.
“Abia PDP is shocked to note that at a time when it is making arrangements for a seamless and peaceful transition for the new government, it is the same Labour Party that was declared the winner that is trying to torpedo the process.
“Subsequently, the legal department of the Abia PDP will release the details of its petitions in the next 24 hours and head to the Election Petition Tribunal to challenge the declaration of Alex Otti of the Labour Party as the winner of the March 18, 2023 governorship election.
The party, however, call on the people of Abia to remain calm, peaceful and steadfast.
