The National and State Assembly Tribunal has nullified the election of the
member representing Obi/Oju State constituency and directed the independent
national electoral commission INEC to withdraw the Certificate of return issued
to the APGA representative and declare Samson Okwu of PDP, as the legitimate
winner of the said election
Delivering judgement in the petition filed by Okwu against the election of Ogewu, tribunal chairman Justice A.A.Adeleye declared that the
petitioner won the election with a margin of nine hundred and ninety four votes
cast from the two Local Government Areas.
Justice Adeleye faulted the decision of INEC which declared Ogewu the
winner without including result for Obi Local Government Area in the final
collation, pointing out that the
margin of win, which the APGA candidate secured over the petitioner in Oju,
was inconsequential hence the total number of registered voters from Obi which
is Fifty nine thousand, four hundred and eleven far exceeded Ogewu’s earlier
margin of lead.
He pointed out that the declaration of Ogewu as the winner of the Federal
Constituency seat based on only the result for Oju, where he scored twelve
thousand, seven hundred and ninety-four votes against Mr Okwu’s Six thousand,
seven hundred and ninety-seven, was invalid hence he did not secure majority of
the lawful votes cast from the two Local Government Areas that made up the
Federal constituency.
He deducted two hundred and fifty two votes scored by the APGA candidate in
Oju Local Government Area on the ground that they were allotted to him in
error.
Following the final computation of result for the two Local Government
Areas by the Tribunal, the two time House of Representatives Member, Okwu led the initial winner, Ogewu after
securing a total of Fourteen thousand, three hundred votes, higher than his
opponent, who trailed behind with Thirteen thousand, three hundred and six.
The Tribunal accordingly declared Samson Okwu, the winner, saying the
petitioner’s witnesses convinced the court with cogent evidences of non
compliance with the electoral act to warrant the court decision in their favour
while the respondent’s witnesses failed to prove the allegation of violence in
Obi Local Government Area during the election.
