Reprieve came the way of Alex Otti on his inauguration as Abia state governor on May 29, as the Appeal Court in Kano state overruled Kano High Court judgement which invalidated all Labour Party’s candidates votes in Kano and Abia states and ultimately, Otti’s emergence as the winner of March 18th, governorship election in Abia.

The Appeal Court, in its ruling on the application brought by the Labour Party and Alex Otti’s legal counsel A.J Owonikoko, SAN and Ken Ahia, SAN suspended the earlier verdict of the federal High Court which allegedly nullified the primaries that brought in Alex Otti and other Labour candidates in Kano and Abia states due to late submission of list to the electoral commission.

In its judgement, the Presiding Judge of a 3-man panel of the appeal Court, Justice Ita Mbaba granted an order of stay and suspension of the ruling given by Justice M.N Yunusa, on May 18th, 2023.

The Federal High court, in the case with Suit No. FHC/KN/CS/107/2023, said the emergence of Labour Party candidates was not in accordance with provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act. The ruling subsequently stirred reactions from Nigerians, who feared that it could deter Alex Otti from being sworn in as Abia state governor.

As a response to the ruling, the governor-elect, though not a party in the matter, requested to join the Labour Party to appeal the matter as an interested party.

Reacting to the Appeal Court’s judgement, Alex Otti spokesperson, Ferdinand Ekeoma noted in a statement that his principal was aware that the High Court’s judgement was dead on arrival, adding that the ruling was controversial.

He, however, noted that Otti joined the suit to avoid mischief against his inauguration as Abia state governor, indicating that his principal has remained undaunted throughout the process.

“Even though many legal experts have argued that the judgement was dead on arrival due to many flaws associated with it ,however, to avoid mischief, Dr. Otti instructed his lawyers to appeal the judgment

“It would be recalled that the said judgement of the Federal High Court generated public outcry across the federation because of what was perceived as a legal ambush to illegally remove LP candidates, a development that excited the defeated Abia PDP and its members who resorted to celebration, however, the Abia Governor-Elect, Dr. Alex Otti who has remained lively and unperturbed called on Abians not to lose sleep over the judgment, assuring that the mandate given to him and his party by Abians was safe and secure”, he concluded.