Ikpeazu wins Abia governorship race

Result

Umuahia, April 26, 2015 (NAN) The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, the winner of the governorship election in Abia.

Ikpeazu polled 264,713 votes to defeat the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Dr Alex Otti, who polled 180,882 votes at the end of Saturday’s re-run election in nine local government areas.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the governorship race went into the supplementary, when the Returning Officer, Prof. Benjamin Ozumba, declared the April 11 poll inconclusive.

Ikpeazu hails from Obingwa Local Government Area in Abia South Senatorial District.

He holds a Ph.D in Chemistry and taught at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology before going into politics.

He was the Assistant General Manager of the Abia State Environmental Sanitation Agency in charge of Aba until November 2014, when he resigned his appointment to join the governorship race.

Meanwhile, his election has prompted spontaneous jubilation in Obingwa and other parts of Ngwa communities.

A native of the area, Mr Matthias Nwogu, said that the jubilation was “natural, considering that this is the first time the area will produce a governor since the state was created in 1997’’