The Ebonyi State Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja will deliver its judgement on Wednesday, September 27, on the petitions against the election of Governor Francis Nwifuru.
The election held on March 18, 2023, saw the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) officially designate Nwifuru, representing the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the victorious candidate.
Nwifuru garnered a cumulative total of 199,131 votes throughout the 13 Local Government Areas within the state, surpassing his nearest competitor, Chukwuma Ifeanyi Odii of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who obtained 80,191 votes.
However, Odii, representing the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and the second runners-up, Bernard Odoh, from the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), contested the outcome of the election and subsequently filed a legal challenge at the tribunal.
In his appeal, Odoh is requesting the disqualification of Nwifuru based on allegations of certificate fabrication and ineligibility to participate in the election. Furthermore, Odoh has urged the tribunal to revoke the Certificate of Return that was previously awarded to Nwifuru.
According to the APGA candidate, Nwifuru’s membership with the PDP throughout the election period rendered him ineligible for sponsorship by the APC.
The individual asserted that Nwifuru lacked the necessary qualifications to participate in the gubernatorial election for Ebony State due to his affiliation with two political parties, which was deemed unlawful.
Odoh made a further claim that Nwifuru lacked the necessary qualifications to participate in the election, as he purportedly presented a counterfeit certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Odoh then requested that the Tribunal invalidate the aforementioned election for the position of Governor of Ebony State, which took place on March 18, 2023.
The individual further implored the Tribunal to mandate a subsequent election in accordance with Sections 179(3) and (4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as revised, for the purpose of filling the position of the Governor of Ebonyi State.
Odoh also emphasized the importance of the Tribunal declaring that the aforementioned fresh election should be conducted only between the two candidates who obtained the maximum number of votes in the March 18 election.
The PDP has submitted a petition challenging the outcome of Nwifuru’s electoral victory.
In the aforementioned appeal, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Odii, have requested the Tribunal to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to rescind the certificate of return that was granted to the Governor.
The petitioner further requested the Tribunal to officially recognize Odii as the victor of the election and reinstate him as the duly elected Governor of Ebonyi State in the governorship election held on March 18.
The petitioners said that Nwifuru lacked the qualifications to participate in the election under the banner of the APC, since he remained a legitimate member of the People’s Democratic Party without formally defecting to any other political party, including the APC.
The authors further asserted that Nwifuru, as a currently sitting legislator elected under the auspices of the PDP to the State House of Assembly, and who has not officially switched parties on the legislative floor as mandated by law, would not have been eligible to participate in an election representing a different political party other than the PDP.
The PDP has submitted a request to the Tribunal, seeking a declaration that Nwifuru’s eligibility to run for the 2023 gubernatorial election under the APC is invalid. The basis for this claim is that Nwifuru is still a member of the party and was not endorsed by the party for any race during the just finished 2023 general elections.
The petitioners further referenced a prevailing ruling by Justice Henry Njoku of the Ebonyi State High Court, which determined that Mr. Nwifuru and other legislators of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, who allegedly switched their allegiance to the APC, are still affiliated with the PDP.
The petitioners have made claims regarding the Independent National Electoral Commission’s failure to comply with the Electoral Act, 2022, as well as allegations of electoral malpractices and other violations.
The individual known as Nwifuru expresses their reaction.
However, Nwifuru requested that the court dismiss the lawsuits on the grounds of lacking merit.
The Governor said that Nwifuru, during his tenure as Speaker, relinquished his affiliation with the PDP and aligned himself with the APC before to participating in the gubernatorial primary election of the latter party.
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