Tribunal Affirms Akwa Ibom Gov Victory

Gov Umo Eno

The petition filed by the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate, Mr Akanimo Udofia, challenging the victory of Pastor Umo Eno of the Peoples Democratic Party in the March 18, 2023, polls has been dismissed by the Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Uyo on Thursday.

Udofia approached the tribunal seeking for disqualification of Pastor Umo Eno on grounds he presented forged documents to the Independent National Electoral Commission, and also did not score the highest number of valid votes in the March 18, 2023 Governorship elections.

The APC candidate also accused the 2nd respondent (Umo Eno) of being convicted by an Abuja Magistrate Court, and therefore not qualified to be fielded for elections.

But delivering judgement on Thursday, the Justice Adekunle Adeleye-led tribunal, in its unanimous decision, held that the allegations of substantial noncompliance with the electoral law in the conduct of the elections were not sufficiently proven by the petitioner.

The tribunal also held that the magistrate court in its judgment, nullified its earlier conviction of Pastor Umo Eno adding that “once a judgement is nullified, it ceases to exist.” and therefore disagreed with the petitioner on the legality of the setting aside of judgement by the same magistrate.

“It is not the duty of the tribunal to determine if the decision of the magistrate court to upturn its own judgment was justified. That falls under the jurisdiction of the Abuja High Court.” the Tribunal added.

On the issue of the qualifications of the 2nd respondent, the tribunal held that the Supreme Court had already determined that Eno was the authentic owner of the WAEC certificates he submitted to INEC.

On the petitioners’ allegation that the PDP made used of public office holders such as one Uwem Ekanem as collation agent in Ikot Abasi Local Government Area, the tribunal ruled that Uwem Ekanem’s membership of the board of Ibom Power Company, cannot be classified as a political office and that a party agent’s membership of a company’s board was not sufficient reasons for a candidate to be disqualified.

Akanimo Udofia’s petition, according to the tribunal, lacked merits as the petitioner was not able to establish one polling unit in which there was non compliance with the electoral law in the March 18 Governorship elections.

The tribunal also dismissed the ground of the petition by Udofia, challenging the eligibility of Senator Bassey Albert, who came second in the election.

The tribunal insisted that at the time of the elections, there was a subsisting appeal by the convicted YPP candidate and this made him eligible to contest in the elections.

The tribunal similarly dismissed the claims by APC that Senator Albert was not qualified to be fielded by YPP having already vied for same office in the PDP.

It ruled that the petitioner not being a member of the YPP, had no basis to challenge who the party fielded and how he emerged as their candidate.

The tribunal dismissed the petitions by governorship candidates of the NNPP, Senator John James Akpan Udoedehe, and ANC, Ezekiel Nyaetok, as lacking in merit.