The National and State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, yesterday dismissed Chief Orji Kalu’s petition challenging the March 5 rerun in Abia North Senatorial District.
Delivering a nine-hour judgment, Tribunal Chairman Justice James Abundaga said the petition was incompetent and lacking in merit.
Justice Abundaga also said Kalu failed to prove his allegations that the election was marred by thuggery and violence.
The tribunal chairman said the petitioner failed to prove the allegations beyond reasonable doubt.
He said the reliefs Kalu sought were vague, nebulous, incomprehensible, ambiguous and lacking in precision.
Justice Abundaga ordered that over 4,200 votes which he said were wrongly credited to Kalu at Umumenyi Ward in Bende Local Government Area be deducted from his 25,814 votes.
The judge affirmed the declaration of Senator Mao Ohuabunwa as duly elected in the rerun.
Kalu, who was the candidate of the Progressives People’s Alliance (PPA) in the election, challenged the election of Ohuabunwa of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The former governor alleged over-voting and wrong computation of figures in favour of Ohuabunwa, saying the respondent did not score the highest number of lawful votes cast and was not validly elected.
He also alleged that armed thugs caused violence and snatched ballot boxes at some polling units and wards during the rerun.
Kalu urged the tribunal to nullify the declaration of Ohuabunwa as the winner declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The former governor alleged that the Returning Officer and a lecturer at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture at Umudike, Dr. Bertrand Nwankwojike, who initially declared the result of the election inconclusive, was “pressured” to later announce the result.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ohuabunwa polled 26,009 votes to defeat Kalu, who was earlier credited with 25,814 votes.
Kalu’s lawyer, Mr Perfect Okorie, expressed dissatisfaction with the judgment.
He said the petitioner would go to the Appeal Court.
NAN reports that the election of Ohuabunwa was nullified by the Court of Appeal, holden in Owerri, the Imo State capital, which ordered a rerun in the senatorial district.