The Enugu State Governorship Election Tribunal has upheld the election of Governor Peter Mbah of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the March 18 governorship election in the state.
The tribunal consequently struck out the petitions of Chijioke Edeoga, candidate of the Labour Party (LP, challenging Governor Mbah’s victory.
Edeoga’s party had filed petitions at the tribunal, alleging that they were cases of over-voting and non-usage of BVAS in the election.
However, the court, in a judgement delivered by Justice Kudirat Murayo Akanruled, ruled that Mbah was duly elected as governor by the majority of lawful and valid votes cast at the election.
Before affirming Mbah’s victory, the tribunal had also dismissed the petitions of Chris Agu of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) against the governor for NYSC certificate forgery.
It held that Mbah did not submit his NYSC certificate to INEC to support his qualification to contest for the office of governor since he was already qualified without an NYSC certificate.
The tribunal further rejected Edeoga’s witnesses and ruled that the LP governorship candidate did not present any admissible evidence to prove that Mbah’s certificate was forged.
Earlier, the tribunal also dismissed the petition of Chris Agu of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) against Mbah over a forged National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate, non-qualification, and corruption against the governor.
The tribunal ruled that the petitioner failed to provide evidence to support their claim that a forged NYSC certificate was submitted to the INEC, adding that the issue is not contained in their affidavit.
