My mandate is safe, secure, can never be stolen – Otti

*Accuses PDP of sponsoring failed coup against him

* We didn’t file case against Otti in Kano, but we are at tribunal to recover our mandate –Abia PDP

From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia

The love-lost relationship between the incoming administration led by Dr Alex Otti of Labour Party (LP) and the out government of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, was magnified on Friday when Otti accused the Abia State government and PDP of indulging in a failed coup in their determined bid to steal his mandate.

But Otti told Abians not to fret, assuring them that the mandate they freely gave him during the March 18, 2023 governorship election was safe, secure and can never be stolen.

“We would like to assure Abians in particular and Nigerians in general that the nationally celebrated mandate given to Dr. Alex Otti by the long-suffering Abia masses is safe and secure and can never be stolen by strange usurpers who are pained and frightened by the reality of their imminent exit from power in the next few days,” the incoming Abia Governor said.

Otti was reacting to his purported sack by a Kano Federal High Court judgement nullifying his candidature as the standard bearer of LP and all other candidates of the party in Abia State for the 2023 general elections.

According to viral reports on the social media on Friday, a Federal High Court in Kano sacked the Abia State Governor-elect and other candidates elected under the platform of the Labour Party in Abia State on the ground that their Party did not submit its register of members to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), 30 days before the conduct of its primaries, one of the requirements for candidates to be eligible to contest elections in Nigeria. 

One 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 Abia States and the judge relying on the provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act (As Amended) granted the prayer made by Mr. Haruna-Ibrahim.

But Otti accused the PDP of being behind the suit, an allegation, PDP has washed its hands off from. However, PDP admitted that it was at the Abia State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal to recover it “ mandate,” but denied dragging Otti and Labour Party to the Kano Federal High Court.

Otti who spoke through his Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), Ferdinand Ekeoma, while reacting to the said court judgement, asserted that he was never sacked by any court.

“The report being sponsored and widely circulated by the PDP and Abia state government, alleging that a Kano High Court has sacked the Abia Governor-Elect, Dr. Alex Otti, OFR, is baseless, unfounded and misleading, and thus should be ignored,” Ekeoma said.

He added: “For the records, though the perpetrators targeted the Abia Governor-Elect and the people of Abia for that legal coup, they were not courageous enough to confront him in the open, hence he was never joined as a party for fear that his eminently qualified lawyers would take the perpetrators to the cleaners.”

In putting the records straight, Otti said that the Federal High Court in Kano did not issue any order on Abia Labour Party candidates nor himself, “because, unlike those who brought the suit to steal the Abia peoples’ mandate, the court was conscious of its powers and careful not to fall into the booby trap set for it by the PDP and Abia state government.”

“To that effect, the court specifically stated in Clause 9 of the judgment ‘The candidates that participated in the election in Abia state 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 Abia Governor-elect recalled that 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 up to the Supreme Court. “In all the cases, Labour Party won at the Federal High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court respectively,” he disclosed. 

“The case brought by the petitioners (in the Kano court) 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. Section 285 (9), requires that it must be filed within 14 days of the occurrence of the event. In other words, the suit should have been filed before the end of June last year. On the contrary, this suit was filed on May 11, 2023 and a week later, the very ‘efficient’ Judge delivered judgement. 

“For purposes of further elucidation, Dr. Alex Otti became the Governorship Candidate of Labour Party on 09 June, 2022, then any pre-election litigation questioning his candidacy must have been commenced not later than 14 days from 09 June 2022— meaning the case must be filed not later than 23 June 2022.

“Any case filed not later than 23 June, 2022 must be determined not later than 180 days from the date of filing. Again, assuming it was filed on 23 June of 2022, the 180-day timeline terminated on 20 December, 2022,” he explained.

Expatiating further on the judgement, Ekeoma said: “Like earlier stated, the FHC in Kano does not have jurisdiction over Abia State, therefore it is impossible for any decision emanating from the court to have effect on Dr. Alex Otti who was not a party to the suit in Kano. It, therefore, exposes PDP’S gullibility to have expected the court to make an order against Dr. Otti, an action that would have incurred the wrath of the NJC.”

He enjoined Abians not to worry about the judgement, assuring them that he would soon be sworn in as Governor to enable him to commence rebuilding the state.

“In the next few days, Dr. Alex Otti will be sworn in as Governor to enable him commence the process of rebuilding and recovering our state that was destroyed and plundered by the PDP, so Abians are enjoined to ignore the fake report claiming that he has been sacked by a High Court in Kano,” he said.

Denying the allegation of dragging Otti before the Kano Federal High Court, the Abia PDP it was never involved in the Kano case although it was at the tribunal to recover what it described as its “mandate.”

In a statement by its Zonal Vice Chairman (North), Hon. Elder Abraham Amah, titled: “Sacking Of Abia Governor-Elect And Other Labour Party Candidates In Abia State By A Federal High Court In Kano,*the party said it did not file any petition against Otti in Kano but was studying the court judgement.

“The Abia PDP wishes to clarify to the good people of Abia State and Nigerians that it did not institute any case against the Abia governor-elect and the Labour Party in a Federal High Court in Kano. 

“However, as a responsible political party, the Abia PDP is aware of the judgement and has mandated its legal team to study the judgement. 

“The Abia PDP has already filed a petition against the Abia governor-elect and the Labour Party at the Abia State Election Petition Tribunal and is exploring legal options that would enable it to recover its mandate. 

“We urge the good people of Abia State to remain calm and peaceful as we await the judgement of the Election Petition Tribunal and we are very sure that justice would be served at the end,” Amah stated.