Abia State Governor-elect Not Sacked – Aide
Mr Ferdinand Ekeoma, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Abia Governor-elect, Dr Alex Otti, has urged the public to disregard the purported sack of his principal by a Federal High Court in Kano State.
Ekeoma requested while reacting to the media report at a news briefing in Umuahia, the state capital in Southeast Nigeria.
Ekeoma described the judgment of the court as “baseless, unfounded and misleading.”
He further described the process as a “legal coup.”
The Aide said that “the perpetrators were not courageous enough to confront Otti in the open.
“Otti was never joined as a party for fear that his eminently qualified lawyers would take the perpetrators to the cleaners.”
Ekeoma further said that the court did not issue any Order on Abia LP candidates nor Otti “because it was conscious of its powers and careful not to fall into the booby trap set for it by the perpetrators”.
“The court specifically stated in Clause 9 of the judgment that the candidates that participated in the election in Abia are not parties before this court and as such the court lacks the jurisdiction to make an order for the issuance of Certificate of Return to them.
“The Federal High Court in Abia had entertained similar cases as pre-election matters involving some PDP candidates versus LP candidates, and the matters were adjudicated upon to the Supreme Court.
“In all the cases, LP won at the Federal High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.
“The case brought by the petitioners is a pre-election matter and under Section 285(14)(a) of the Electoral Act, the petitioners have no locus standi as they were not aspirants in LP,” he explained.
Ekeoma also argued that the Court in Kano lacked jurisdiction over Abia, saying it was impossible for any decision emanating from it to affect Otti.
He urged the people not to panic.
Otti in the next few days will be sworn in as governor to enable him to begin the process of rebuilding the state.
A section of the media had on Friday, reported that the court presided over by Justice M.N Yunusa, nullified the candidacy of all those that participated in the 2023 General Elections on LP’s platform in Abia and Kano.
Meanwhile a Federal High Court has denied nullifying the candidature of the Abia Governor-elect, Dr Alex Otti.
The court, however, said “it nullified the election of the candidates for Kano Labour Party(LP) that contested during the 2023 General Election.”
A plaintiff, Mr Ibrahim Haruna-Ibrahim, had filed an application seeking the court to revoke and set aside the certificate of return issued to all LP candidates declared winner in Kano and the 35 states of the Federation including the FCT Abuja.
The respondents in the suit are: Labour Party and Independent National Electoral Commission.
Justice Muhammad Nasir-Yunusa, said the candidates who participated in the 2023 general election in Abia State were not parties before his court.
NAN/ Mercy Chukwudiebere
