By Dapo Akinrefon

THE Abia State Government has called on the National Judicial Council, NJC, to ensure that over 300,000 voters in the state were not denied their fundamental right of deciding the governor of the state.

Ikpeazu and Otti

It also expressed optimism that the Supreme Court would upturn the verdict of the Appeal Court and rule in favour of the Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.

The state government reiterated that it would be an act of injustice to disenfranchise about 300,000 registered voters in the three local government areas of Obingwa, Osisioma and Isiala Ngwa North where the Court of Appeal election panel had voided the results.

Addressing newsmen in Lagos, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ikpeazu, Mr. Godwin Adindu, argued that the Court of Appeal panel’s judgment was “replete with fundamental flaws that never before existed in Nigeria.”

In its judgment of December 31, 2015, the Appeal Court panel had cancelled the entire results of Obingwa, Osisioma and Isiala Ngwa North councils which had over 300,000 registered voters, out of which 228,932 had collected permanent voter’s cards.

Having cancelled the results of the three council areas, the five-member Court of Appeal panel ruled that Mr. Alex Otti, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, won with 164,444 valid votes as against 114,444 valid votes for Ikpeazu, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

He said: “This is the first time a governor is being disenfranchised together with his siblings, cousins, relatives, his village and community. Governor Ikpeazu is being denied his own vote, the vote of his wife and children, the vote of his siblings, cousins and relatives. He is being denied the vote of his state and Federal constituencies even when his opponent did not field any candidate in these areas.”

Expressing hope that the apex court would deliver justice in Ikpeazu’s favour, he said “Our expectations is that the Supreme Court stands to defend the law. It should distance itself from extraneous pressure and defend the law.”