The Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Umuahia, Abia State on Friday, affirmed the election of Labour Party’s Alex Otti as the winner of the March 18 poll, News About Nigeria reports.
The Court, therefore, dismissed petitions of opposition parties against Otti and the Labour Party.
In its ruling, the tribunal, presided over by Hon. Justice H. T. D Gwadah, said that the petitioners, “failed in their three grounds and their petitions were dismissed for lack of merit.”
The three grounds petition by the oppositions are non-qualification of Otti to contest the governorship election, non-membership of the LP and provision of an unauthentic National Youth Service Corps certificate.
The tribunal, in an almost four-hour unanimous decision, held that the petitioners failed in their attempt to convince the panel beyond reasonable doubt that the election was marred by irregularities and not conducted in substantial compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.
The three-man panel also ruled that the issue of whether Otti was qualified to contest because of claims that his party’s primaries was not duly conducted were all party affairs, therefore, the tribunal lacked the jurisdiction on such matters.
The court also ruled that the petitioners were unable to prove beyond reasonable doubt their allegations that Otti did not score the majority of the lawful votes cast and that the election was marred by corrupt practices and irregularities.
