By Olaoluwakitan Babatunde
Following the ruling of the Supreme Court, upholding the election of Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu as the winner of the 2015 governorship election in Abia State, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Dr. Alex Otti, has asked APGA supporters and indigenes of the State to remain focused on the critical task of re-developing the State.
Speaking with journalists in Lagos, Otti expressed gratitude to his supporters and disclosed that his candidacy was borne out of his desire to serve Abia and provide quality leadership the State had lacked for close to 16 years.
In his words, “After watching the fortunes of Abia wane for decades, we stood for an election to provide an alternative to the status quo. All those who followed the events leading to the election can confirm that we provided credible opposition during the electioneering process and as a result, the 2015 elections in Abia were unlike any the State has ever witnessed.’’
In his words, “After watching the fortunes of Abia wane for decades, we stood for an election to provide an alternative to the status quo. All those who followed the events leading to the election can confirm that we provided credible opposition during the electioneering process and as a result, the 2015 elections in Abia were unlike any the State has ever witnessed.’’
“However, for us it is not a matter of life and death. As a party, we accept the ruling of the Supreme Court, although we do not agree with the judgment as we believe that justice had not been served. It is very important to underscore at this point, that the Supreme Court, which is composed of human beings, is not infallible. We believe this ruling was a mistake, but we know that one cannot expect to receive justice every time.” He added.
Commenting on the nation’s electoral system and recent judgments on elections in Delta, Akwa Ibom; Kwara and Ebonyi, Otti observed that the judgements at the apex court had followed the same process which he described as a bandwagon effect.
He thereafter called for a cleansing and an overhaul of the Judiciary which he observed had been worrying even the nation’s number one citizen, President Muhammadu Buhari.
Commenting on the nation’s electoral system and recent judgments on elections in Delta, Akwa Ibom; Kwara and Ebonyi, Otti observed that the judgements at the apex court had followed the same process which he described as a bandwagon effect.
He thereafter called for a cleansing and an overhaul of the Judiciary which he observed had been worrying even the nation’s number one citizen, President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to Otti, “We cannot speculate on why the Appeal Court judgment was not upheld, but a lot of things still have to change in the electoral system, as it is highly irregular to award victory in an election to someone who did not win the majority of votes cast. Moreover, President Buhari complained that judiciary was his headache and now we can see beyond the President’s headache.
“The truth however, is that change has to start with the political class. At present, we have lost all moral rectitude. In established democracies, people who stand for office have careers, and only stand for office in order to serve their people, but here in Nigeria, there are individuals of high social standing who are idle, but somehow receive monthly allowances drawn from the federation account. This is the sort of illegality we hoped to put an end to.”
Speaking on his plans for re-election in the future, Otti disclosed that he would wait to assess progress in Abia under the new administration before making a final decision.
“The truth however, is that change has to start with the political class. At present, we have lost all moral rectitude. In established democracies, people who stand for office have careers, and only stand for office in order to serve their people, but here in Nigeria, there are individuals of high social standing who are idle, but somehow receive monthly allowances drawn from the federation account. This is the sort of illegality we hoped to put an end to.”
Speaking on his plans for re-election in the future, Otti disclosed that he would wait to assess progress in Abia under the new administration before making a final decision.
“ I believe it is a bit early in the day to start making such plans. I would not want to make comments that may upset anyone, so I will observe what happens in the State in the next few years. We should not distract anyone right now with talk of 2019, but I can assure you that I will always be available to improve the lot of my people.” He said.
Details of the Supreme Court’s ruling are expected to be made public on February 26, 2016
Details of the Supreme Court’s ruling are expected to be made public on February 26, 2016
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