Chief Frank Chinasa, the candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the February 25 election, has called on the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal 4 in Umuahia to overturn the victory of Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Ben Kalu, in the said poll.
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Meanwhile, the Action Alliance (AA) has also approached the Tribunal, appealing for the complete annulment of the election and advocating for a fresh poll.
In his closing statement during a petition filed against the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) declaration of Kalu as the winner, the lead counsel for the petitioner, Yunus Ustaz Usman, SAN, reiterated his earlier argument. He pointed out that some of the certified true copies of documents submitted before the tribunal by the first respondent carried different variations of the name â Osisiogu Benjamin Okezie, Kalu Benjamin Okezie, and Benjamin Okezie Osisiogu.
Usman, SAN, argued that among the nine contested documents, the first respondent failed to produce any supportive evidence from the institutions he claimed to have attended. Instead, he only presented affidavits to the Tribunal.
The petitioner’s counsel contended that since it was evident that the first respondent lacked the necessary qualifications to stand for the election, the Tribunal should nullify Kalu’s victory and declare Chinasa as the rightful winner.
“The first respondent does not possess the required qualifications for the election. The burden shifts to him to prove he does. They never presented any certificates as evidence; all they submitted to the Tribunal were affidavits. That is why I am urging the Tribunal to annul his election and declare my client as the winner.”
Daniel Anya, the counsel for the AA candidate, Mr. Ifeanyi Igbokwe, reiterated his previous argument that the name and logo of his client’s party were omitted from the ballot box. He pointed out that despite AA’s protest letter to INEC through the National Secretary of the party, Suleiman Abdulrasheed, concerning the omission, the electoral body took no corrective action.
Based on this, Anya prayed the Tribunal to invalidate the election, advocate for a fresh poll, and instruct INEC to ensure that AA’s name and logo are included on the ballot paper in the upcoming election.
In response to these submissions, Kelvin Nwufo, SAN, the counsel for the first respondent, urged the Tribunal to dismiss the petitions, asserting that they lacked merit. He stated that his client did not forge any documents and contended that all documents carrying different names of the first respondent had been duly reconciled and published in the Federal Government Gazette.
Viginus Nwankwo, counsel for the second respondent, the All Progressives Congress (APC), argued that the onus of proof in this matter lay with the petitioner. Nwankwo informed the Tribunal that the non-inclusion of AA’s name and logo on the ballot paper was a pre-election matter over which the Tribunal had no jurisdiction. He requested the Tribunal to dismiss the matter.
After hearing all parties, the presiding Judge of the three-man tribunal adjourned the case for judgment. The specific date of the judgment would be communicated to the lead counsels in due course.
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