Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
The victory of the member representing Ikwuano/Umuahia North/Umuahia South federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Obi Aguocha (Labour Party), was Thursday, upheld by the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Umuahia.
Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the immediate-past Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Chinedum Orji, had gone to the tribunal to challenge Aguocha’s victory.
The former Speaker alleged that Aguocha was not validly nominated by the Labour Party.
He had also urged the tribunal to remove Aguocha for allegedly not resigning his membership of the PDP before picking the LP ticket.
The former Speaker also urged the tribunal to remove the LP candidate on the grounds that the LP allegedly failed to submit the party’s membership register to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, 30 days before the poll as required by the Electoral Act.
But the LP candidate had through his Lead Counsel, Anaga Kalu Anaga, urged the panel to throw away the petition which he simply dismissed as “incompetent.”
According to him, the Petitioner could not produce evidence to prove that his claims were valid as the testimony of his witnesses was not “front-loaded” before the witnesses gave their oral testimony.
Aguocha’s lawyer insisted that a higher Court had already ruled that the evidence of a subpoenaed witness ought to have been “front-loaded.”
He further argued that the claims of manipulation of election results could not be substantiated by the testimony of only one party agent that witnessed the election in a particular unit.
”You cannot use only one agent’s testimony at a particular unit to generalise in all the polling units. The Petitioner ought to have brought witnesses in the other affected polling units,” he contended.
Delivering judgment in the matter, Chairman of the three-man panel, Justice Abubakar Kutigi, held that there was no evidence to show that the 1st Respondent was not validly nominated and sponsored by his party.
The tribunal also held that the Petitioners could not prove beyond reasonable doubt that the 1st Respondent did not win majority of the total lawful votes cast in the election.
It subsequently affirmed Aguocha’s victory, declaring that the reliefs sought by the Petitioners could not fly.
In an interview with our Correspondent, Counsel to the 1st Petitioner, Nkume, said they were studying the judgment to determine the next line of action.
He said the Petitioners could not show any convincing evidence to prove their case.
Speaking, the Director General of Aguocha’s Campaign Organisation, Leonard Ogbonna, said it was a victory for the masses who voted for his principal.
He also urged the former Speaker to throw his support behind the lawmaker so he could concentrate on his job in the interest of the entire constituency.
