The Governor-elect of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti, has appealed for calm in the state following a court judgement nullifying his nomination.
A Federal High Court sitting in Kano State and presided over by Justice M N Yunusa nullified the nomination of all Labour Party (LP) candidates in the just-concluded general election in Kano and Abia states.
The Next Edition reported earlier that Otti’s candidature and other Labour party members in Abia and Kano states were nullified by a federal High court in Kano on grounds of not being in compliance with the provisions of the 2022 electoral act.
The judge ruled that the failure of the Labour Party to submit its membership register to the INEC within 30 days before their primaries rendered the process null and void.
Reacting to the judgment, Otti who spoke to Vanguard after the ruling of the court, said there was no cause for alarm over the judgement.
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He described the court judgment as kangaroo.
Otti further said that arrangements for his swearing-in on May 29 were in full gear as planned, declaring that the antics of the enemies of democracy cannot truncate the will of Abians.
The Labour Party has also dismissed the said judgment as a waste of time.
Labour Party Chairman in Abia State, Ceekay Igara, said the court’s “pronouncement is laughable.”
He said the decision of the court would have no significance in the coming inauguration of the Governor-elect.
According to Igara, it is only the election tribunal that is bequeathed the power to sack a democratically elected person. He said: “That court pronouncement is laughable. Everybody should go about their normal activities. It is only the tribunal that can remove Alex Otti. It is not just a court that will remove someone who was duly elected. In fact, I am going to gear up activities for the inauguration.”
