BREAKING! ENHA TRIBUNAL NULLIFIES OKEY MBA’S, ORDERS RE-RUN IN OWO, GOVERNOR MBAH’S WARD

Enugu – The National and State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Enugu has nullified the election of Hon. Okey Mbah of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the March 18 House of Assembly election for Nkanu East constituency.

Initially, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Hon. Okey Mbah as the rightful winner of the election. However, in a landmark ruling delivered on Friday, the tribunal stated that the electoral process failed to meet the provisions of the 2022 electoral act.The three-man panel, presided over by Honourable Justice Adie Attoe Onyebueke, delivered this judgment in response to a petition filed by the Labour Party candidate, Surv. Okwudiri Nnaji. The tribunal’s findings revealed significant irregularities in the election, particularly in polling units within Ugbawka and Owo wards.

One of the key issues highlighted by the tribunal was the disparity between the number of votes counted and the number of registered and accredited voters in these areas. This discrepancy raised serious doubts about the fairness and validity of the election results, prompting the tribunal to take decisive action.Consequently, the tribunal has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to organize a rerun election in the affected polling units within the next 90 days. This decision underscores the commitment of the tribunal to upholding the integrity of the electoral process and ensuring that the voice of the people is accurately represented.

Interestingly, Owo ward is the ward of the Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah and the Labour Party, LP, had claimed that there was irregularities in the ward in the Governorship election held alongside the State Assembly Elections. However, the State Governorship election tribunal had thrown out the petition of the LP.