Former Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, has said that the judgement of the tribunal dismissing his petition challenging the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), for excluding him from fully participating in the senatorial election of Cross River Central, held on 23rd February, 2019, will be subjected to judicial test in the appellate court.
The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Calabar had struck out Ndoma-Egba’s petition on the ground that “The issues brought before the tribunal were pre-election matters and as such the tribunal lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the matters.”
The tribunal refused to grant the ex-Senate Leader’s request for a fresh senatorial poll in Cross River Central, thus, affirming the election of Senator Sandy Onor of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
However, in a statement asking his supporters to remain calm and not be discouraged, the Director of Media and Communication of Ndoma-Egba’s campaign organization, Sunny Udeh, said: “Without doubt the decision of the Tribunal is a huge disappointment to all our supporters and indeed members of the All Progressives Congress in Cross River State. Senator Ndoma-Egba has received many calls and messages from different quarters expressing overwhelming solidarity with him and the All Progressives Congress.
“As a senior lawyer, Senator Ndoma-Egba retains implicit faith in the Nigerian judiciary and is well aware of the options available to him. Upon a quick review of the situation with our lawyers, we have taken the decision to seek judicial clarification by subjecting the judgement of the Tribunal to further judicial test at the Court of Appeal. This decision is borne out of the Senator’s strong personal sense of responsibility to further develop the law and deepen jurisprudence in Nigeria, in the overall interest of the society.
“As we work towards achieving this, we urge all our teeming supporters not to be discouraged but remain calm. We would not have gotten this far without you. Please keep the faith and thank you for your steadfast support.”