Politics
By Anthony Isibor
THE Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, and the Patriotic Defenders of National Institutions have said that the ruling of the Enugu State Governorship Election Tribunal points to a clear instance of electoral malpractice.
In a statement signed at the weekend by Emmanuel Onwubiko, National Coordinator, HURIWA, the group expressed deep worries over the apparent decline in the integrity of the judiciary, going by the frequent emergence of questionable rulings from the esteemed halls of justice.
It recalled that Chijioke Edeoga and the Labour Party in Petition No.: EPT/EN/GOV/01/2023 had filed a petition challenging the outcome of the gubernatorial election held on March 18, 2023 in Enugu State, which declared Peter Mba of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP- as winner.
Some of the key issues raised by Chijioke Edeoga and the Labour Party challenging the outcome of the Enugu State gubernatorial election held on March 18, 2023, which declared Peter Mba of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as winner are:
The serious allegation of the NYSC certificate forgery against Peter Mbah, the PDP candidate. The group stated that the allegation gains weight through NYSC’s testimony as contained in a sworn affidavit in the Federal High Court case between Peter Mbah and the NYSC, which formed part of the evidence NYSC submitted to the tribunal in further proof that the NYSC never issued any certificate to Mbah, let alone the purported certificate of National Service No. A808297 dated January 6, 2003, was not given due cognizance by the tribunal.
“The revelations from the NYSC is alleged to cast serious doubt on the authenticity of the NYSC certificate presented by Peter Mbah, raising significant questions about the eligibility of the governor for the gubernatorial race.
“The petitioners presented evidence that after the collation of 16 out of the 17 local government areas in Enugu State, Labour Party candidate Chijioke Edeoga was leading by over 11,000 votes.
“Shockingly, the PDP in Enugu, possibly with the involvement of INEC, awarded the PDP a staggering 30,000 votes in Nkanu East LGA, which happens to be the PDP candidate’s LGA.
“The Labour Party alleged that the INEC BVAS data for Nkanu East LGA showed a total of 15,000 accredited voters on Election Day. However, when the results were declared, the PDP was credited with a total of 30,350 votes, while the Labour Party received only 1,855 votes. How could INEC report over 33,000 votes in a location where only about 15,000 voters were accredited?”
However, the tribunal, led by Honourable Justice Kudirat Akano, had swiftly dismissed the allegations of NYSC certificate forgery against Peter Mbah and rejected the Labour Party’s claims of over-voting and bypassing of the Biometric Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, the statement said.
The tribunal’s conclusion was that Peter Mbah was legitimately elected as governor based on the majority of valid votes in the election.
The group therefore demands a review of the judgment for justice after legal experts have analyzed the judgment and found it to be delivered with disregard for the Constitution and Supreme Court precedents. Section 182(1)(j) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria clearly outlines the penalties for forgery, regardless of the perpetrator’s status.
A.
-October 16, 2023 @ 14:57 GMT |
Tags: Anthony Isibor Chijioke Edeoga HURIWA Patriotic Defenders of National Institutions Peter Mbah
