The Supreme Court has kept its final decision pending on appeals disputing the victory of Governor Alex Otti of the Labour Party (LP) in the Abia State gubernatorial election.
Legal representatives from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the All-Progressives Congress (APC), and others presented their arguments, with former Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami, representing the APC, seeking a declaration that Otti was not validly sponsored by the LP.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Otti the winner with 175,467 votes, followed by Okey Ahiwe of the PDP with 88,529 votes and Enyinnaya Nwafor of the YPP with 28,972 votes. Despite challenges from the PDP and APC at the Abia State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Appeal Court, Otti’s victory remained intact.
The Appeal Court in Lagos ruled against the APC and PDP, stating a lack of evidence to prove Otti’s non-membership with the LP or the forgery of votes. The court emphasized that party membership and sponsorship are pre-election matters and internal party affairs.
During the recent proceedings at the Supreme Court, Malami argued that the constitutionality of Otti’s sponsorship by the LP was questionable, asserting that Otti and other respondents were not constitutionally sponsored as they were members of another party during the election. He claimed that the APC’s evidence was wrongly excluded by the Tribunal and upheld by the Appeal Court.
In response, Otti’s counsel, Tobechukwu Nweke, highlighted previous Supreme Court rulings affirming the internal nature of party affairs regarding sponsorship and membership. The PDP’s legal team alleged discrepancies in the results from Obingwa LGA of Abia state, while Otti’s counsel, Onyechi Ikpeazu, urged the apex court to dismiss the PDP’s case due to the lower courts deeming their evidence not credible.
With arguments presented, the Supreme Court has reserved judgment on the matter.
