By Kamil Opeyemi
The Enugu Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, on Thursday, upheld Gov. Peter Mbah’s victory as the duly elected governor of Enugu State in March 18 governorship election.
The tribunal, chaired by Justice Kudirat Akano, struck out the Labour Party (LP) ’s allegations of over-voting and bypassing Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) as well as the Peoples Redemption Party’s petition against Mbah.
It ruled that Mbah, who contested on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was duly elected by the majority of lawful and valid votes cast at the election.
After thoroughly examining the evidence presented, the tribunal found no substantial grounds to support the LP and PRP’s claims, ultimately affirming the legitimacy of Mbah’s victory.
Mbah polled a total of 160,895 votes to defeat the closest contender, Chijioke Edeoga of the Labour Party, who polled a total of 157,552 votes.
Edeoga and PRP Governorship candidates in Enugu, Chijoke Edeoga and Chris Agu had approached the tribunal to disqualify Mbah over an alleged National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate forgery and electoral malpractice that characterized the election.
The LP candidate closed his case after he tendered documentary evidence and called 30 witnesses that testified before the Enugu State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Enugu.
Among the exhibits he tendered before the court were polling unit results (form EC8A) in all the areas in contention; ward collation results (form EC8B) in the affected areas and summary of the results as well as the declaration of the results.
The tribunal however, dismissed the petitions by Edeoga and Agu on the alleged NYSC certificate forgery as there was no evidence before it to support their claims.