TVCE [UMAHIA] – Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have filed a notice of appeal challenging the Appeal Court’s decision sacking him from office.
The court’s panel, led by Justice Oyebisi had declared Alex Otti of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) the winner of the election of April 11, last year.
It held that Otti scored the highest valid votes of 164,332 against 114,444, scored by Ikpeazu.
The court held that there were cases of over-voting and allocation of votes in favour of the PDP candidate in three Local Government Areas: Isi-Alangwa, Osisioma and Obingwa and voided elections in the three councils.
In a notice of appeal filed yesterday at the Supreme Court, Ikpeazu and PDP are praying the court to, among others, set aside the Appeal Court’s judgment on the grounds that neither Otti nor his party had credible and cogent evidence to support their petition challenging Ikpeazu’s victory.
In the letter written on their behalf by Wole Olanipekun (SAN), they contended that Ikpeazu remained the governor until he had exhausted his right of appeal to the Supreme Court.
The governor and his party said they were dissatisfied with the judgment and instructed their lawyer to appeal against it at the Supreme Court.
PDP said Ikpeazu had a constitutional right to appeal against the judgment at the Supreme Court, under and by virtue of Section 233(2) (e) (iv) of the constitution (as amended).
Ikpeazu and his party added that would file a notice of appeal, because they were yet to access a certified true copy (CTC) of the judgment.
