In Enugu, Mr Peter Mbah of the PDP won the very tough battle against Chief Chijioke Edeoga of the LP. Mbah garnered 160,895 votes while Edeoga got 157,552 votes. Mr Frank Nweke of the APGA polled 17,983 votes to come third while Uche Nnaji of the APC was fourth with 14,575 votes. Mbah was declared governor-elect at exactly 10:46 pm
AFTER four days of political logjam and anxiety, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, at exactly 5.24 pm, yesterday, declared the Labour Party, LP Candidate, Dr Alex Otti, as the winner of the March 18 governorship poll in Abia State and threw the state into wild jubilation.
Otti polled 175, 467 votes to defeat his closest rival, Chief Okey Ahiwe of the ruling People’s Democratic Party, who scored 88,529 votes.
Chief Enyinnaya Nwafor of the Young Progressives Party, YPP, came third with 28,972 votes.
Returning Officer and Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology Owerri, FUTO, Professor Nnenna Oti, subsequently declared Otti the Governor-elect having polled the highest number of votes and satisfied all necessary conditions.
Otti won in 10 of the 17 LGAs, PDP got six and YPP one.
Otti had almost won the governorship election in 2015 when he contested against the incumbent Governor Okezie Ikpeazu but his ambition was stopped by the same Obingwa ‘mystery’ votes.
In 2015, Otti who then contested on the platform of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, had swept 16 LGAs when suddenly Obingwa brought in over 80,000 votes in favour of Ikpeazu, thus forcing the Returning Officer, to declare the poll inconclusive.
During a supplementary poll, Obingwa produced more than 80,000 to send the ex-banker parking.
With Otti’s emergence, it is the second time LP will be producing a governor, the first being Dr Segun Mimiko in Ondo State.
Otti’s election threw supporters of the LP and Abians into wide jubilation as the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Abia kicked, rejected the results and accused the LP of electoral brigandage and violence.
Abia State’s out-going Governor, Dr Okezie was one of the first to congratulate Otti on his victory, yesterday, saying: “Since we have come to the logical end of this battle, it is appropriate to congratulate the winner, Dr Alex Otti on his hard-fought victory. In every battle, there will always be a winner and in the spirit of sportsmanship and love for our state, the Governor-elect must see his victory as a higher call to service to the people of Abia State.”
Meanwhile, Otti, who thanked Abians for electing him, said the 24 years of siege in Abia and the journey to rebuild God’s own state had started. He extended a hand of fellowship to his opponents in the election saying that all their good plans that are consistent with building a virile Abia will be accommodated.
How Mbah floored Edeoga in Enugu
In Enugu, Mr Peter Mbah of the PDP won the very tough battle against Chief Chijioke Edeoga of the LP. Mbah garnered 160,895 votes while Edeoga got 157,552 votes. Mr Frank Nweke of the APGA polled 17,983 votes to come third while Uche Nnaji of the APC was fourth with 14,575 votes. Mbah was declared governor-elect at exactly 10:46 pm
With the announcement of the Abia and Enugu states governorship election results, 26 of the 28 states where polls were held on March 18 have been announced with the APC winning 15; PDP has 9; LP-1; and NNPP-1.
The elections in Adamawa, Kebbi have been declared inconclusive and the INEC is yet to fix a date to conclude the elections.
Ikpeazu congratulates Otti
Governor Ikpeazu, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Onyebuchi Ememanka, noted that Otti fought a long battle over a very long period of time and deserves commendation for his staying power and resilience.
“Since we have come to the logical end of this battle, it is appropriate to congratulate the winner, Dr Alex Otti on his hard-fought victory. In every battle, there will always be a winner and in the spirit of sportsmanship and love for our state, the Governor-elect must see his victory as a higher call to service to the people of Abia State,” he said.
The Governor further saluted the other governorship candidates who took part in the election, especially the PDP candidate, Sir Okey Ahiwe, for their doggedness.
Ikpeazu stated that the Governor-Elect should be given an enabling environment to run the affairs of the state from May 29, 2023, and urged the candidates not to distract the incoming Governor with court cases.
He said: “Having, myself, spent about three and half years in different courts and having experienced firsthand the distraction such cases can cause a leader, I appeal to every candidate in this election not to distract the incoming administration with court cases so that they will settle down and deal with the very demanding business of governance. Let us break this negative trend of subjecting our Governors to endless litigations and allow them to concentrate on providing good governance.”
He assured Otti that he will put in place every necessary measure to ensure a seamless transition from his administration to his.
Emenike’s campaign rejects result
Speaking on the declaration of Alex Otti as the winner of the Abia State governorship election, Prince Tony Eze, director of Media of Ikechi Emenike Campaign Organisation, said the APC is rejecting the result in its entirety.
Eze who spoke from the collation centre in Umuahia, said: “The Labour Party engaged in the worst form of electoral brigandage and violence. APC rejects the results in its entirety. We urge Abians to remain calm. We will articulate a response to the electoral heist in due course.”
The siege is over — Otti
In his acceptance speech shortly, Otti said: “With deep humility and a profound sense of responsibility, I wholeheartedly accept your mandate to be your chief servant for the next four years. Before I go on, I must first dedicate the victory to God the Father, the Almighty who makes everything beautiful in his own time.
“I also dedicate it to the millions of Abia citizens who have been the unfortunate victims of bad governance this past decade. As I acknowledge this victory, I am fully conscious of the huge expectations of millions of the good people of Abia State, who have been denied the dividends of democracy and good governance for such a long time.
“I want to sincerely thank every Abian and non-indigenes alike who participated in this election. As you are all aware, this was my third attempt at contesting for this office in my quest to implement my long-held vision of rebuilding Abia State as truly God’s own state. This third time, it pleased God to give us victory.