By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
The incumbent Governor of Abia state, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has congratulated the Governor-elect and Labour Party flagbearer, Dr. Alex Otti, saying he has fought a good fight.
This is even as the entire state erupted into jubilations immediately Otti was declared the winner of the March 18 governorship election in Abia state by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday.
The LP candidate trounced his opponents Chief Okey Ahiwe of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Enyinnaya Nwafor of the Young Peoples Party (YPP).
Otti scored a total of 175,467 votes beat Ahiwe who polled 88,529 votes and Nwafor who got 28,972 votes in the election.
Otti of LP also won 10 of the 17 Local Government Areas LGAs) in the state, PDP got six while the YPP got one.
The INEC Returning Officer of Abia state, Professor Nnenna Nnannaya-Oti declared Otti the winner Wednesday evening at the resumption of the final Collation of governorship election results in Umuahia, the Abia state capital over 48 hours after INEC suspended the exercise in the South-East state.
“That Otti Alex Chioma of Labour Party having satisfied the requirement of the law is hereby declared the winner of the election,” said Nnannaya-Oti, who is the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri.
The last time the LP produced a governor in the last 20 years was when Olusegun Mimiko was elected Ondo State governor from February 2009 to February 2017.
Meanwhile, residents of the commercial city of Aba and the state capital, Umuahia poured into the streets to celebrate immediately the news broke that INEC has declared Labour Party’s candidate, Alex Otti a winner of the March 18 Abia state governorship election.
Prompt News reports that residents of the two cities trooped out Wednesday evening in their numbers holding tree branches signifying peace as they marched through the major roads and streets, singing the praises of Otti.
It was also gathered that there was unprecedented solidarity celebration in Otti’s village of Umuru, Umuehim clan in Ehi Na Uguru Ancient Kingdom, Isiala Ngwa South LGA of Abia.
In nearby Imo and Enugu states, Otti’s victory in Abia state revibrated as people of the neighbouring states were also in jubilation mood after the LP candidate was declared winner of the governorship election.
