Nigeria, July 21, 2016 – The political crisis in Abia State took a worsening dimension on Thursday as Indications emerged that the document issued to Uche Ogah by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a certificate of return for the governorship election was declared invalid.
“Ogah’s certificate of return bears the date of April 11 which failed to produce a governor. Recall that INEC declared the April 11 governorship election in Abia state inconclusive despite the fact that Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was leading Alex Otti of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) with a wide margin.
“INEC called for a supplementary election election in about 8 cancelled LGAs in the State on April 25, which Ikpeazu also won and was declared winner. And INEC issued him with a certificate of return as winner of the election after the supplementary election.
“So what Ogah has is an invalid document that can’t make him governor. He can’t lay claim to the governorship of Abia State on the basis of an inconclusive election.”
Justice Okon Abang of a Federal High Court in Abuja, had ordered the issuance of a Certificate of Return to Uche Ogah by the INEC over alleged tax default levelled against governor Okezie Ikpeazu.
The governor however appealed the judgment through a motion for a stay of execution.
