The Governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, has congratulated the Labour Party candidate at Saturday’s governorship election, Alex Otti, on his victory at the poll.

Ikpeazu, who said the victory deserved commendation as a result of Otti’s resilience having “fought a long battle over a very long period of time,” advised the governor-elect to see his victory as a “higher call to service”.

This is contained in a statement released Wednesday evening and signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Onyebuchi Ememanka.

“Since we have come to the logical end of this battle, it is appropriate to congratulate the winner, Dr Alex Otti, on his hard-fought victory. In every battle, there will always be a winner and in the spirit of sportsmanship and love for our state, the Governor-elect must see his victory as a higher call to service to the people of Abia State,” the governor said.

While saluting other candidates who took part in the contest for their doggedness, Ikpeazu appealed to them “not to distract the incoming Governor with court cases.”

“Having myself spent about three and half years in different courts and having experienced first hand, the distraction such cases can cause a leader, I appeal to every candidate in this election not to distract the incoming administration with court cases, so that they will settle down and deal with the very demanding business of governance. Let us break this negative trend of subjecting our Governors to endless litigations and allow them to concentrate on providing good governance,” he begged.

The governor assures the governor-elect that he will put every necessary measure in place for a seamless transition from the current administration to the next on May 29, 2023.

“The Governor thanks the people of Abia State for casting their votes in a very peaceful atmosphere and reminds them that peace remains very critical in the quest for sustainable development, charging them to accord the incoming Governor every necessary support that will enable him succeed,” the statement stated, adding that the governor wished the incoming governor success while “assuring the people of Abia State that he will continue to discharge his duties as Governor until the 29th day of May, 2023 when he will handover to the new Governor.”

Otti polled a total of 175,466 to defeat his closest rival and candidate of the PDP who scored 88,526 and was declared winner of the poll by the Returning Officer, Prof. Nnenna Oti, Wednesday afternoon at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Umiahia, the Abia State capital. (The PUNCH)

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