Tribunal Removes LP Reps Member, Returns APC’s Onyejeocha; Orders INEC To Issue Certificate of Return To Real Winner

September 7, 2023 2 min read

By Babatunde Solanke

The National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Umuahia, Wednesday, has sacked from office the member representing Isuikwuato/Umunneochi federal constituency, Hon Amobi Ogah of the Labour Party(LP).

In his place, the tribunal declared the All Progressives Congress(APC), candidate, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, the winner of the February 25 national assembly poll.

The tribunal als ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Ogah and issue a fresh one to Onyejeocha.

The former Deputy Whip of the House of Representatives and incumbent Minister of State for Labour, had approached the tribunal to seek the nullification of Ogah’s emergence.

He alleging that he was not qualified to contest for the election, and was not validly nominated and sponsored by his party.

Aside this Onyejeocha also prayed for a declaration that Ogah and LP did not win the majority of the validly cast votes in the said election, just as she also urged the tribunal to declare that she and not Ogah,won the majority of the valid votes in the election.

Delivering judgment on the petition, Chairman of the three-man panel, Justice Adeyinka Aderegbegbe, granted the relief of the Petitioners that “how a candidate is sponsored is both a pre and post election matter”.

He held that the 3rd Respondent was not validly nominated and sponsored by the 2nd Respondent as the claims by the 1st Petitioner that INEC did not receive any notice concerning primaries of the 2nd Respondent was not controverted.

The Tribunal further ruled that it had in its possession, all the results of the election in the federal constituency, and was duty-bound to collate the results.

It added that after collating the results in its possession, it found out that the tabulation by the Petitioners was correct.

Subsequently, the Tribunal declared that the total votes polled by Onyejeocha was 11, 936 while Ogah’s actual total votes was 9,728.