The National Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Enugu has struck out a petition by former Enugu State Governor, Senator Chimaroke Nnamani of the PDP challenging Senator Kelvin Chukwu’s declaration as winner of the Enugu East Senatorial District election.
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INEC had declared Kelvin Chukwu of the Labour Party winner with over 69,000 votes against Nnamani’s 49,000 votes in the keenly contested February 25 polls.
Dissatisfied, Nnamani petitioned the tribunal alleging over-voting, irregularities and non-compliance with electoral guidelines. He prayed the court to nullify Chukwu’s victory and declare him the rightful winner or order a fresh election.
Delivering judgement on Tuesday, the 3-member tribunal led by Justice Nusirat I. Umar dismissed Nnamani’s petition for being vague, unsubstantiated and lacking merit.
The panel unanimously upheld Kelvin Chukwu’s election as declared by INEC. It awarded N500,000 cost against the petitioners in favour of Chukwu, Labour Party and INEC.
With the ruling, Senator-elect Chukwu’s victory in the Enugu East Senatorial contest has been reaffirmed. The tribunal’s decision is a major boost for the Labour Party in Enugu State.
On the other hand, it is a blow to Senator Nnamani’s quest to return to the Senate after losing his re-election bid. The tribunal found no basis to upturn the election as demanded by the former governor.
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