Our reporter/ The Court of Appeal, Lagos division has dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the election of Alex Otti as the duly elected governor of Abia State.
The Court also dismissed the appeal by the Action Peoples Congress (APC).
In a ruling on Saturday, the panel described the APC and their lawyer as jesters and likened their petition as a comedy skit.
The three-man panel upheld the victory of Otti, saying that it conformed with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
The appellate court ruled that petitions brought by the appellants lacked in merit, as they were like “a comedy skit brought to a democratic setting”.
The court said issues of political party membership is a pre-election matter, which also falls within the jurisdiction of the political party.
It further said since Otti joined the Labour Party, won its primary election and submitted his name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), he was qualified to contest.
On the issues of Bimodial Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, brought by the PDP and its candidate, the appeal court said the appellants failed to demonstrate or link their documentary evidence to the specific parts of the case.
Leave a Reply