The Abia State election petition tribunal in Umuahia has dismissed three grounds of petition submitted by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate Okey Ahaiwe against Governor Alex Otti.
The panel, which issued its decision around 1:20 p.m., dismissed Ahaiwe’s case for lack of merit.
Ahaiwe has contested the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) designation of Otti as the legitimately elected governor.
In his pleadings, Ahaiwe begged the court to remove Otti and declare him the winner through his lawyer, Paul Ananaba, SAN.
Among other things, the PDP candidate claimed Otti’s electoral victory violated Section 77 of the Electoral Act.
However, the tribunal dismissed all of the requests for lack of merit.
According to the DAILY POST, the result elicited spontaneous elation among thousands of LP supporters from throughout the state, who danced in joy and celebration outside the Federal High Court compound.
Meanwhile, the tribunal is currently hearing Ikechi Emenike’s APC case against Otti.
Emenike is requesting that the tribunal remove Governor Otti based on claims that he did not resign from the APC before joining the LP.
The APC candidate in the March 18 guber election also claims that Otti’s name was not on the LP registry when he ran for office.