Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia has been declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner of Saturday’s governorship election held in the state.

According to the results announced on Sunday by the Returning Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state, Professor Damian Ozurumba, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate secured 261,127 votes, leaving his closest challengers, Uche Ogah of the All Progressives Congress (APC) with 99, 574 votes while Dr. Alex Otti of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) finished third with 64,366 votes.

However, shortly after the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) declaration of the PDP candidate as winner, the APGA governorship candidate and his counterpart in the All Progressives Congress (APC), have addressed a joint press conference in Umuahia, the state capital, rejecting the result of the governorship election which they both described as a ‘sham.’

Alleging that the results do not represent the true wishes of the people as INEC breached its guidelines, Otti stressed that any result which does not agree with the card readers will not be accepted.

Both candidates, subsequently gave INEC the next 24 hours to cancel the election, adding that both parties are willing to present themselves when the Commission is ready to conduct a free and fair election in the state.