NIGERIA’S COURT OF APPEAL SQUASHES ABIA STATE GOVERNOR’S ELECTION

GOVERNOR OKEZIE VICTOR IKPEAZU

Today must be one of those bad days for the governor of Abia state. The Court of Appeal which held its sitting in the neighboring Imo state capital, Owerri today, December 31, gave him a bad end of the year gift as it nullified the election of Dr Okezie Ikpeazu as governor of Abia state. Abia is one of the states in the eastern region of the country.

The Appeal court in its judgment removing Dr. Ikpeazu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and ninth governor of the state directed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) swear in Dr Alex Otti, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as the rightfully elected governor.

The Appeal court’s judgment is at variance with the decision of the Abia State Election Tribunal which had earlier upheld Ikpeazu’s election on 4 November.

The APGA candidate, Alex Otti, a former banker not satisfied with the Tribunal’s ruling headed to the Appeal court.

It is expected that Dr. Ikpeazu will be challenging the Appeal court’s ruling at the Supreme Court.