Stella Oduah: election upheld

Senators Dapo Lam Adesina,  Stella Oduah and  Mao Ohuabunwa  were among senators who survived challenges by their opponents at the election tribunals, as the verdicts began tumbling in.

In Oyo state, the National and State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ibadan on Monday struck out the petition of Accord Party candidate, Olugbenga Adewusi, challenging the victory of Dapo Lam-Adesina of All Progressives Congress (APC).

But delivering the judgment, the Chairman of the three-man panel, Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo, said the petition lacked merit.

She consequently struck out the petition and declared Lam-Adesina as the winner of the election.

The election of former Minister of Aviation, Sen. Stella Oduah of PDP for Anambra North Senatorial Zone was also upheld by the Anambra Election tribunal.

The petitioner, Mr Dubem Obaze and his party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), had challenged Oduah’s victory on grounds of alleged electoral fraud during the March 28 poll.

Delivering the judgment, the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Hezekiah Solanke, dismissed the petition for lacking in merit.

The chairman held that the petitioners failed to prove their allegation.

Mao Ohuabunwa: Floors Orji Kalu, APGA candidate

He said that the petitioners also failed to present relevant documents relating to the alleged malpractice perpetuated at Onitsha North, Onitsha South and Ogbaru local government areas.

He further held that the petitioners failed to prove that Oduah was not duly nominated by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to contest the poll.

In a related development, the tribunal headed by Justice Nayai Aganaba also upheld the election of Rep. Sopuruchukwu Ezeonwuka of the PDP for the Orumba North/South Federal Constituency.

The tribunal dismissed the petition filed by Mr Hygers Igwebuike of APGA challenging Ezeonwuka for lacking in merit.

In Abia state, the National and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in Umuahia also  upheld the election of Chief Mao Ohuabunwa as the senator for Abia North senatorial zone.

The Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo, delivered judgment in the consolidated petitions filed by former Gov. Orji Kalu and Chief David Onuoha-Bourdex of the Progressive People’s Alliance and All Progressives Grand Alliance respectively.

Onigbanjo said that the petitioners failed to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt.

The tribunal dismissed Kalu’s petition on the grounds of incompetence while that of Onuoha-Bourdex was dismissed because he could not prove the allegations of falsification and alteration of results conclusively.

Onigbanjo said that Kalu’s petition failed to achieve its purpose because it was wrongly built on the foundation that the result of the election had not been declared or was declared by a wrong person.

He said that although there were proven cases of falsifications, alterations as well as inflation and deflation of figures on both sides, the tribunal went ahead to compute the result for the candidates.

Onigbanjo said that at the end of the computation, PDP scored 48,738 votes while APGA scored 28,210 votes.

He therefore declared Ohuabunwa the winner of the poll, having scored the highest number of votes.

In his reaction, Onuoha-Bourdex said that he would appeal against the judgment, describing it as “shocking’’.

The counsel to Ohuabunwa, Mr Mike Onyeka, described the judgment as victory for the people and the judiciary