A Federal High Court sitting in Kano State has invalidated the candidature of the Abia State Governor-elect, Dr Alex Otti.
The court presided over by Justice M N Yunusa also nullified the candidature of all Labour Party flagbearers in Abia and Kano States.
The judge held that their emergence was not in compliance with the 2022 Electoral Act provisions.
This was his verdict in the Suit No FHC/KN/CS/107/2023 filed by one Mr Ibrahim Haruna Ibrahim against the Labour Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission.
“The party that has not complied with the provisions of the electoral act cannot be said to have candidate in an election and cannot be declared winner of an election; this being so, the votes credited to the 1st defendant is a wasted vote,” the judge said.
He said the failure of the Labour Party to submit its membership register to the INEC within 30 days before their primaries renders the process invalid.
But Otti in his reaction said his inauguration programme would continue as planned while the Labour Party dismissed the judgement as waste of time.
