The 2019 All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship candidate in Abia state, Dr. Alex Otti has failed in his bid to remove Governor Okezie Ikpeazu from office at the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in Umuahia.
In a unanimous judgement delivered on Friday in the capital, Umuahia, the trubunal held that the petitioner failed to prove his allegations of noncompliance with the Electoral Act and over voting in the conduct of the March 9, poll.
Reading the over three hours judgement, the Chairman of the three-member tribunal, Hon Justice Lekan Ogumaye declared Ikpeazu of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), as having been duly elected in the election.
Otti, whose attempt to occupy the Government House in 2015 against Ikpeazu failed at the Supreme Court, wanted the tribunal to annual the results of the election in 15 out of the 17 council areas of the state.
Reacting to the judgement, the state Chairman of the PDP, Chief Jonhson Onuigbo described it as victory for democracy in the state, adding that it has vindicated the decision and mandate of the people of the state at the poll.
Similarly, one of the counsel in the governor’s legal team, Chief Paul Ananaba (SAN), maintained that the judgement had been meticulously and painstakingly arrived at and commended the members for the efforts put to it.
In his reaction, the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Ikpeazu, Barrister Onyebuchi Ememanka said Otti wanted to distract his principal from his moves to uplift the state, saying the tribunal has thrown the bid into judicial dustbin.
However, the Media Aide to the petitioner, Mr. Ferdinand Ekeoma, speaking on his behalf, expressed dissatisfaction with the judgement, adding that it was a case of technicality overriding the law.
He said though he will not cast aspersions on the tribunal, he found it difficult to understand how it arrived at the judgement, adding that the petitioner had instructed his counsel, Prince Lateef Fagbemi to appeal against it.
Meanwhile, Ikpeazu has rededicated the victory to the people of the state, saying the judiciary has again proved to be the last hope of the common man, and extended hand of fellowship to Otti and other candidates in the election.
Ikpeazu, who spoke to newsmen at the Government House, noted “As I speak, about five candidates have come to participate in our policy making to fashion out a good direction for the state in the next four years.”
Also, the Delta State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Asaba on Friday upheld the return of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as winner of the March 9, 2019 election.
In a unanimous judgement, chairman of the three-man tribunal, Justice Suleiman Belgore dismissed the petition of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Great Ogboru for failing to prove the allegations of voting without accreditation, illegal allocation of unlawful votes and multiple voting.
Ogboru anchored his petition marked EPT/DT/GOV/01/2019, on the allegations that the governor and his party, PDP were unduly credited with excess votes by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and that there was multiple voting as well as voting without smart card reader accreditation.
The petitioners disputed that there were over voting and multiple voting in 896 polling units across 23 our 25 local government areas of the state.
But the tribunal held that the petition suffered the problem of proof as a result of lack of specifics in its insufficient pleadings, adding further that the petition was bereft of details.
“There is gross insufficiency of pleadings in this case. The paragraphs are too generic without specifics. What the petitioners did was to lump all the polling units being disputed together
“Having faulted the petition, the petitioners failed to prove that the first respondent was not duly elected by majority of lawful votes at the election, and we so hold.
“It is incorrect to contend that the first respondent did not win the election by a majority of lawful votes. It is crystal clear that he scored a total of 925,274 votes as against 215,938 votes scored by the first petitioner.
“We find the declaration and return as shown in exhibits tendered satisfied the provision of section 25 and 69 of the Electoral Act, 2010 as amended. We have no reason to upturn that declaration. This petition is gold digging, opportunistic, it failed and it is hereby dismissed,” the tribunal held.
Counsel to the petitioners, Nichols Icheko thanked the tribunal for the judgment but indicated that it will be tested. On their parts, counsels to the first and second respondents, D.D. Dodo (SAN) and A.T. Kehinde respectively described the judgment as well researched, adding that it will further enrich the nation’s electoral jurisprudence.
