Full text: Alex Otti on Supreme Court verdict, calls Abia struggle ‘the most beautiful days of my Life’

Full text of a statement by the Abia APGA Gubernatorial candidate, Dr. Alex Otti following the supreme court verdict which upheld the election of Dr. Ikpeazu of the PDP as the Governor of Abia state. Read below:

My fellow Abians, I saw how pained and disappointed you were following the ruling of the Supreme Court, rejecting the popular verdict of the Appeal Court, which declared me winner of the 2015 governorship election in Abia State. Let us not mourn like those who have no hope but I urge you to continue to trust in God.

Let me express gratitude to God and all of you who have supported this struggle till this day. I wish to thank those who worked directly with me, and those whom I have never met, but who worked tirelessly, without rest to ensure that a new Abia devoid of unfortunate status quo is a reality. Some worked all the way from abroad; some worked with their phones, calling, sending messages, making updates 24/7 on social networks; and many are in Abia telling everyone who cares to know that Alex Otti is our choice. Children discussed me in their schools, mothers and fathers gisted about me in the markets and at workplaces. Our mothers and fathers at home sat by the homestead and also prayed for me and the struggle to make Abia free. Let me tell you one secret – the days you stood by me working for your home State of Abia have been the most beautiful days of my life. Your prayers and wishes kept me and this struggle alive. I thank you all. May God bless you all and not let us to despair – WE MUST NOT DESPAIR.

As you already know, my candidacy was borne out of a sincere desire to serve our dear State and provide the quality leadership our State had lacked for the past 16 years.

After watching the fortunes of Abia wane for over a decade, we stood for an election to provide an alternative to the status quo. All of you who followed the events leading to the election can confirm that we provided credible opposition during the electioneering process and as a result, the 2015 elections in Abia was unlike any the State had ever witnessed.

However for us, it is not a matter of life and death. As a party, we accept the ruling of the Supreme Court, although we do not agree with the judgment as we believe that justice was not served in the case. It is very important to underscore at this point, that the Supreme Court, which is composed of human beings, is not infallible. We believe this ruling was a mistake, but we know that one cannot expect to receive justice every time, given the imperfection of man.

The electioneering process and judgments in Rivers, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Zamfara and Ebonyi, I observed that the judgements at the apex court had followed the same pattern which can best be described as a bandwagon effect.

I therefore call for a cleansing and an overhaul of the Judiciary which, if you observe, had been worrying even to the nation’s number one citizen, President Muhammadu Buhari.

We cannot speculate on why the Appeal Court judgment was not upheld, but a lot of things still have to change in the electoral system, as it is highly irregular to award victory in an election to someone who did not win the majority of the lawful votes cast. Moreover, President Buhari complained that judiciary was his headache and now we can see beyond the President’s headache.

The truth, however, is that change has to start with the political class. At present, we have lost all moral rectitude. In other democracies, people who stand for office have careers, and only stand for office in order to serve their people, but here in Nigeria, many individuals of high social standing who are idle, somehow receive monthly allowances drawn from the state’s federation account. This is the sort of illegality we hoped to put an end to.

Many of you have written, and called to find out my plans to stand in election in the future, my answer will be that I would wait to assess progress in Abia under the new administration before making a final decision.

I believe it is a bit early in the day to start making such plans. I would not want to make comments that may upset the system, so I will observe what happens in the State in the next few weeks, months and years. We should not distract anyone right now with discussion of 2019, but I can assure you that I will always be available and interested in improving the lot of my people.

The Supreme Court will be making details of its ruling public on February 26, 2016. I know you all will want to know the reason for their ruling. While we wait, I want to once again say a big THANK YOU ABIA for your overwhelming support. Your desires are genuine and your votes genuine but judgement not justice was delivered. We await the Justice of God on ABIA. Ndeewonu!

THANK YOU ABIA!!THANK YOU!

Dr. Alex Otti (OFR) 5th February 2016

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