Court Nullifies Otti’s Candidacy, Declines to Annul His Election

Abia-governor elect urges supporters to ignore judgement

Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano

Justice M N Yunusa of a Federal High Court sitting in Kano yesterday nullified the candidature of Alex Otti, governor-elect of Abia, and other candidates of the Labour Party (LP) in Abia and Kano states, but declined to order INEC to withdraw Otti’s certificate of return.

On the same day, the Abia State Governor-elect advised the state residents to keep calm and ignore his alleged nullification of his mandate.

Justice Yunusa nullified Otti’s candidacy and that of other LP members in Abia and Kano states due to non-compliance with the provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act but declined to invalidate Otti’s election.

The judge ruled: “The candidates that participated in the election in Abia State are not parties before this court, as such, the court lacks the jurisdiction to make an order for the issuance of certificate of return to them. They are however at liberty to seek the said redress in the appropriate division of the court.”

Otti responded to the annulment speculations by saying that preparations for his inauguration on May 29 are proceeding as planned.

He said the actions of those opposed to democracy would not prevent the people of Abia from having their way.

The governor-elect who spoke through his media aide, Ferdinand Ekeoma, added that the Kano judgement holds no water and stands on nothing.

“It has no basis, and nobody should bother about it. If they had a case why didn’t they file it in Abia?

“Even the one they filed in Kano, they intentionally did not want to join us. The judge knows that, and did not pass any verdict on us because Otti was not joined.”

Otti further explained that similar cases had already been filed against two Labour Party House of Representatives candidates in Abia but were all dismissed even by the Supreme Court.

“The court had ruled on a similar suit before the election and dismissed it. A similar suit was filed against two of our Representative candidates – Obi Aguocha, and Ginger Onwusibe – which was adjudicated up to the Supreme Court,” Otti said.

The Kano court gave its ruling on the LP candidates in Abia and Kano on Thursday in a suit filed by Ibrahim Haruna Ibrahim against the LP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The judge held that LP did not submit the register of its members in the 36 states of the federation to INEC in compliance with the Electoral Act.

He said the votes cast for all the candidates of the LP in Kano and Abia states are therefore “wasted”.