The election of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has been affirmed by the Federal High Court in Owerri. Justice A.I Allagoa ruled on Friday, July 8, 2016 that the plaintiff, Friday Nwosu, was unable to prove that the tax documents were forged, Vanguard reports.
The court ruled that the tax documents were not forged. The case was therefore dismissed. Justice Okon Abang had on Monday, June 27, declared Ikpeazu unfit to occupy the Abia State governor’s office for allegedly submitting false information to his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, ahead of the party’s governorship primary in December 2014. He was ordered to vacate office as governor while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was ordered to immediately issue a certificate of return to Uche Ogah, who polled the second highest number of votes in the primary. However, Nwosu filed a suit, insisting that he is the only lawful candidate of the PDP and ought to be declared governor since Ikpeazu has been disqualified and Ogah didn’t run for the party’s primary.