The Court of Appeal in Abuja has invalidated the election of Emmanuel Ukpong-Udo, the representative for Ikono/Ini Federal Constituency in Akwa Ibom State, citing violations of electoral regulations.
According to Channels TV, the appellate court declared that the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) announcement of Mr. Ukpong-Udo as the election winner breached the Electoral Act 2022, as well as the Regulations and Guidelines for the Election 2022, and the Manual for the Election 2023.
Judge Abba Mohammed upheld the Election Petition Tribunal’s decision, which previously ousted Mr. Ukpong-Udo, the Young Progressive Party (YPP) candidate in the 2023 election.
Despite defeating PDP’s Glory Edet, the tribunal deemed the victory invalid.
In the contested election, Ukpong-Udo secured 19,926 votes, surpassing Mrs. Edet’s 15,765 votes.
The combined results included the 25 February election and the 15 April 2023 supplementary National Assembly election.
INEC initially declared the 25 February election inconclusive, scheduling a supplementary election for 15 April 2023. However, the commission later canceled the supplementary election, citing violence and ballot box snatching.
Channels Television reported that the Court of Appeal has mandated a rerun of the election, though it remains unclear whether this pertains to the entire federal constituency or specific polling units where INEC had declared inconclusive results.
