Hours after the annulment of his election by the Court of Appeal sitting in neighbouring Imo State, Okezie Victor Ikpeazu, Ph.D, said the declaration of his arch-rival, Dr. Alex Otti, as Abia State Governor-elect would not stand.

“Preliminary reports available to me indicate that the premise upon which the decision of the Court of Appeal was arrived at is at best tenuous,” Ikpeazu, who was still awaiting a copy of the court judgement as at 7pm, said in a statement.

“That being said, I wish to express my utmost confidence in the ability of the Justices of the Supreme Court to correct the anomaly at the Court of Appeal and uphold my victory as had been earlier done by the Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Umuahia,” he said, adding:

“In the interim, while I have instructed my Lawyers to take steps to file an immediate Appeal at the Supreme Court, I wish to assure all Abians that all is well. I remain the Governor of Abia State until the Supreme Court reaffirms my mandate which was freely given to me by the good people of Abia State during the elections.

“I call on the Security Agencies to maintain the peace in Abia State and ensure that people go about their legitimate businesses without fear of disruption from any quarters. I also call on our supporters to remain calm in the face of provocation.

“I remain supremely confident that at the end of the day, victory shall be ours.”

•Photo shows Governor Ikpeazu.