Abia Election: Appeal Court declares Alex Otti of APGA Winner, sacks Ikpeazu

An Appeal Court has declared the candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, Mr Alex Otti, the winner of the Abia State Governorship election.
The court in its ruling on Thursday ordered the swearing in of Mr Otti, as governor of Abia State by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and asked Mr Okezie Ikpeazu to vacate the office.
Mr Ikpeazu of the People’s Democratic Party was declared winner of the election held in April by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
His entry into the governorship race of Abia State early in the year unsettled political camps but the victory of governorship candidate of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Alex Otti, yesterday at the Court of Appeal in Owerri has altered existing political calculations in the state.
With the ruling, attention has shifted to the former Group Managing Director of Diamond Bank. Suddenly, Otti is the face every Abian wants to see.
In nullifying the election of the incumbent Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the court, presided over by Justice Oyebisi Omoleye, ruled that Otti polled 164,332 as against Ikpeazu’s 114,444.
Expectedly, the judgment has thrown PDP and Gov Ikpeazu’s army of supporters off balance while, conversely, hundreds of Otti’s supporters lined the street yesterday clinking glasses.
Followers of political trend in Abia state, especially observers of the election are not surprised at the decision of the  appeal court. Even PDP members would not be totally confounded. Although they had hoped that the Appeal Court would follow the footprint of the state election tribunal which upheld the declaration of Ikpeazu by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as winner of the April contest, they knew that anything was possible.
The rivalry between Ikpeazu and Otti was unsual from the onset. The nomination of Otti as APGA candidate quaked the state PDP. The party took the former bank chief as a foe that must be crushed. The internal wrangling in the state chapter of APGA did not help matters. Then governorship aspirant, Chief Ufomba, challenged Otti’s nomination. He sued the leadership of Chief Victor Umeh, then National Chairman of the party, claiming that he was the candidate of the party.
Umeh and Otti triumphed at the court . And that paved the way for the latter. But the administration of Chief Theodore Orji which was in power unleashed its power of incumbency on Otti and his platform, APGA.
However, rather than that stymie, the fortunes of Otti and his popularity among the voters grew.  When the election finally came, it was marred by controversies. While contestants in other states knew their fate on April, Ikpeazu and Otti had to wait for a supplementary election to know who would be handed certificate of return by INEC to rule the state . Eventually, PDP amid allegations and counter allegations carried the day.
Otti and his men cried foul. They headed for the election tribunal. And again he was floored by Ikpeazu.
With the trouncing of the Governor at the Appeal Court, Otti is showing sign that he may be the one to laugh last. But that is if the Supreme Court upholds yesterday’s ruling. For now, it is cautious celebration for the APGA candidate.
The banker-turned politician was born February 18, 1965. He is an economist, banker, investor, and philanthropist. He has three children. He is the immediate past Group Managing Director of Diamond Bank Plc, a leading retail financial institution in Nigeria.