The Imo State National and State House of Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal has nullified the election of a member of the House of Representatives, Ikenga Ugochinyere of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The tribunal also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a supplementary election within 90 days. 

This was contained in a unanimous decision on Sunday by a three-member panel of the Tribunal 3, which conducted its proceedings in Mararaba, Nasarawa State.

It held that the PDP did not validly nominate Mr Ugochinyere to contest the Ideato North/South Federal Constituency election held on February 25.

In its lead judgment delivered by its chairman, Justice Anthony Akpovi, it said the supplementary poll should be in 55 polling units where elections were not held.

It held that the PDP and its candidate should be excluded from the supplementary election.

The judgment followed a petition lodged before the tribunal by the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Abazu Benson.

INEC had declared the PDP candidate as winner of the election with 13,026 votes. 

Whereas the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Chigozie, came second with 5,696 votes, the petitioner, who the APC sponsored, came third with a total of 2,368 votes.

Dissatisfied with the election outcome, the APC candidate filed a petition wherein he contended that Mr Ugochinyere was not qualified to participate.

The petitioner, among other things, argued that all the votes credited to the PDP candidate amounted to wasted votes.

He told the tribunal that contrary to the express provision of the Electoral Act, the PDP conducted its primary election in a venue outside the constituency.

The tribunal stressed that documentary and oral evidence before it established that the primary election of the PDP conducted on May 25, 2022, which produced Mr Ugochinyere, was outside the constituency.

It was held at Aladinma Shopping Mall, a location that was outside Ideato North/South Federal Constituency.

Relying on the provisions of section 84 (5) (c)of the Electoral Act 2022, the tribunal held that PDP’s primary election was invalid.

It held that a valid candidate could not have emerged from an invalid primary election.

More so, the tribunal held that owing to the principle of margin of lead, the LP candidate could be declared the seat winner.

INEC admitted that it could not hold the election in 55 polling units in the constituency owing to the activities of unknown gunmen.

It, therefore, directed INEC to conduct supplementary polls in the remaining polling units with all the parties participating except the PDP.

Other members of the panel that concurred with the lead judgment were Justices Usman Kudu and Ibrahim Mohammed.

(NAN)