March 28, (THEWILL) – The Governorship and House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abakaliki, Ebonyi state, on Tuesday, granted an ex-parte order for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to allow Prof. Benard Odoh and Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii, to inspect electoral materials used during the March 18 gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections.
Prof. Odoh is the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii is the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), while Francis Nwifuru is the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Recall that Nwifuru polled a total of 199,131 votes to defeat Odii, who scored 80,191 votes to come second, while Odoh got 52,189 votes to come third in the just concluded governorship election, which was held in the 13 local government areas of Ebonyi state.
The state INEC returning officer, Prof. Charles Igwe, who declared Nwifuru as the governor-elect, said he (Nwifuru) polled the highest votes from the total vote cast.
THEWILL reports that the candidates of PDP and APGA took the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), All Progressives Congress (APC), and the governor-elect, Nwifuru, to the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abakaliki, to challenge the process that led to the victory of Nwifuru in the just concluded election.
The counsel to Odoh, Uba Chukwu Decency and that of Odii, Adams Uzuakpunwa Obeke Esq, had in their separate suit No. EPT/EB/Gov./01/2023, between Odoh Vs INEC and 2 others, and another suit No, EPT/EB/Gov./02/2023 between Odii and ANOR Vs INEC and 2 others, solicited the court to prevail on INEC to allow their clients to inspect the Governorship electoral material.
In his ruling, the Chairman of the three-man governorship and House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, Justice Adekanye Lekan Ogunmoye, granted the Ex-parte order, directing the INEC to allow both Odoh and Odii to inspect the governorship election materials.
Justice Ogunmoye, however, ordered that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, should allow the plaintiffs; Odoh and Odii to inspect, scan and make photocopies for use of all the electoral materials that are their Possession.
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