Tag: sacks

•Orders fresh poll in 90 days

•Court upholds election of Yobe’s Gaidam

Embattled  Governor Udom Gabriel Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State yesterday got more than he bargained for at the Court of Appeal, Abuja.

The court  voided the April election that brought him to power  and ordered fresh poll in the state within 90 days.

The ruling  appeared to have complicated matters for the governor who had approached the court to  with a view to setting aside the  October 21 verdict of the State Governorship Election Petition tribunal which cancelled the results of the April 11 election in 18 of the state’s 31 Local Governments  and ordered a rerun.

The appellate court, in a unanimous decision, held that from the evidence presented by parties at the election tribunal, it was clear  that Emmanuel did not win the majority of valid votes cast during the election.

It held that the appellant, Umana Okon Umana, the candidate of the All Proressives Congress (APC) who was the petitioner at the tribunal, effectively discharged the burden of prove placed on him under the law by establishing irregularity in the conduct of the election.

The judgment was on an appeal by Umana against the October 21 judgment by the  State governorship election tribunal, which sat in Abuja.

The Court of Appeal  ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct fresh election within 90 days.

The five-man panel of the Appeal Court, held that the tribunal was in error to have validated part of the election when it agreed with the petitioners -Umana and his party, APC, that the election was marred by irregularities including over voting, improper accreditation and non-collation of votes.

Justice Oludotun Adebola Adefope-Okojie, who read the lead judgment, noted that having established substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act in the conduct of the election, the lower tribunal ought to have nullified the entire election held  in the state.

The court noted there was no dispute that the votes cast during  the election  exceeded the number of accredited voters for the election.

It added that even when the number of voters accredited with card reader was added to those captured in incident form ( where the respondents claimed card reader failed) the total was still not equal to  the over 1 million votes declared by INEC as total votes cast.

The court noted that from INEC’s record,  437, 128 voters were accredited for the election, with the aid of card reader,  only for the commission to  declare  over 1, 222, 885 votes at the end of the election, an excess of 685, 780.

It noted that INEC’S document, tendered, which showed over voting was not disputed by any of the parties, adding that although the respondents claimed to have resorted to manual accreditation where card reader failed, they neglected to tender incident forms to that effect before the court.

The court said from evidence before it, including testimonies by senior citizens of the state, including a former governor,  what happened during the last election in Akwa-Ibom was condemnable and should not be allowed to repeat itself.

Earlier, the court dismissed three appeals filed by Emmanuel and INEC. Emmanuel filed two and INEC  one.

The first was an interlocutory appeal by Emmanuel, in which he challenged the locus standing of Umana and  the APC to challenge the outcome of the election.

The court  held that Umana was validly nominated as candidate for the election and dismissed the appeal for lacking in merit.

The other two were Emmanuel’s and INEC’s appeals against the October 21 judgment by the tribunal, which the appellate court also dismissed for lacking in merit.

Another panel of the court, headed by Justice Ayo. Olukola Bada upheld the election of Governor Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe State.

The court upheld the judgment by the state governorship election tribunal and dismissed the appeal by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the election, Adamu Waziri.

• Wike’s fate uncertain

The Court of Appeal in Abuja, yesterday voided the elections that produced two Senators From Rivers State – Osinakachukwu Idoezu (Rivers South-West Senatorial District) and John Olaka-Nwogo (Rivers South-East).

The court, in a judgment, held among others, that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) failed, in its conduct of the elections, to comply substantially with the provisions of the Electoral Act and other guidelines for the March 28, 2015 National Assembly Election.

The sack of Idoezu and Olaka-Nwoga yesterday brought to three the number of Senators sacked in Rivers State by the Appeal Court.

The Court had in a judgment on Thursday evening, nullified the election of George Thompson Sekibo, representing Rivers East Senatorial District.

The appellate court, in a judgment on an appeal by Andrew Ibonule Uchendu and his party, the APC, upheld the appeal and upturned the decision of the Rivers State National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal that sat in Abuja earlier this year.

Also on Thursday, the court annulled the elections of Kingsley Ogundu Chindah and Blessing Nsiegbe (PDP) representing Obio/Akpo Federal Constituency and Port-Harcourt 2 Federal Constituency of Rivers State.

The appeals, in respect of which the two judgments were given, marked CA/A/EPT/624/2015 and CA/A/EPT/625, filed by Anthony Chinedu Okocha and Collins Owhondah of the APC.

Yesterday’s appellate court’s judgment was on the appeals by Magnus Abbe and Otelemagba Dan-Amachree (of the All Progressive Congress.

Justice Ali Gumel, in the lead judgment, held that the conduct of the election that produced the sacked  senators failed to meet the requirement under the Electoral Act.

The judge was specific that by the court’s finding, lawful accreditation did not take place in majority of the voting centres.

Justice Gumel held that from the available evidence, including the ones led by INEC and the appellants, the election of March 28, 2015 in Rivers State, did not conform with set guidelines such as the use of voter card reader machines, voter register and other election guidelines.

He noted that from available evidence, all the polling units in the two senatorial districts abandoned the use of card reader machines, thereby giving way to manipulations.

The judge added that there was no proper accreditation of voters on election day as required by law, adding that election without accreditation, as in the instant case cannot stand in the face of the law.

He held that an act done in contravention of the law is nothing but a nullity and illegality.

He upheld the appeals and ordered INEC to conduct fresh elections in the affected senatorial districts within 60 days.

With the cancellation of the three senatorial elections in Rivers, on ground of non-compliance with the Electoral Act, the fate of the state governor, Nyesom Wike, who benefited from accumulated of all elections held in the state during the governorship election, appear unclear.

The election tribunal had, earlier this year voided Wike’s election and ordered a rerun, a decision Wike challenged.

The case is yet to be decided by the Court of Appeal.

The governor could still appeal to the Supreme Court should he lose at the Court of Appeal.