THE Anambra Central Senatorial Election Petition Tribunal, yesterday upheld the victory of Senator Victor Umeh in the January 13 senatorial rerun election. It dismissed the petitioner, Mr Nkem Ekweozoh, the candidate of the Mega Peoples Progressives Party (MPPP),as a rabblerouser.
The tribunal comprising Justice H. A. Olusiyi, Justice A. O. Ayoola, and Justice A. U. Birnin Kudu also dismissed the five reliefs sought by the petitioner. The tribunal said the petition lacked merit and the applicant unable to proof his case.
Ekweozoh had claimed that Umeh was not duly elected by majority of valid votes cast at the election and that the victory was invalid as it was fraught with corrupt practices and substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act. He further said Umeh was not qualified to contest the election as his nomination came at a time he was still the national chairman of his party, APGA.
Besides, Ekweozoh said Umeh spent far above the maximum election expenses of N40 million as stipulated by law. Delivering a unanimous judgment, that lasted more than five hours, Justice Olusiyi, described the petitioner as a “`meddlesome interloper” who lacked the locus standi to contest the out-come of the election.
The panel further ruled that the tribunal lacked jurisdiction to look into one of the complaints which related to Umeh’s nomination, sponsorship and candidature. Olusiyi said Ekweozoh was a “rabble rouser” for making heavy weather of the issues of Umeh’s sponsorship and nomination when he was not a member of APGA or an aggrieved aspirant.
”You cannot meddle into the domestic affairs of a party to which you are a complete stranger. “All the particulars of fact in support of the petitioner’s grounds that Umeh at the time of the election was not qualified to contest the election were not proved by any credible evidence known to our laws and therefore the petition had failed woefully,” he said.
Reacting to the judgment, Mr Ikeobi Ejiofor, a political associate of Umeh, who led other supporters to the tribunal, said the victory was not only for Anambra people, but for the entire South-East.