BY PETER OKUTU
ABAKALIKI — The  National and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Monday, nullified the election of the member representing Ezza-North-West Constituency in Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Mr. Enyi Chukwuma Enyi, of All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, in the state.

In a judgment delivered by the Chairman of the Tribunal, Justice Henry Olusiyi, the tribunal declared Deacon Celestine Nworji of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, winner of the election having scored the highest number of votes cast.

The tribunal invalidated the exclusion of the election results from Nweke Okpuru polling unit in Inyere ward where the petitioner scored 706 votes as against 21 scored by the first respondent.

Justice Olusiyi ruled that the electoral officer had no powers to exclude the results from the polling unit having been collated and declared earlier by the presiding officer.

Adding that with the election result of the ward added, the candidate of the PDP won the election in the Ezza North West state constituency.

The Tribunal noted that the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC during the proceedings of the tribunal failed to present any witness to justify their decision for excluding the result from the total result collated and declared that based on the total vote collated, the candidate of the PDP won the election.

Reacting to the judgment, the Sacked House of Assembly member, Chukwuma Enyi, said that the judgment does not reflect the true position of the case adding that he would appeal the judgment at the
Appeal court in Enugu.

He called on his supporters to remain calm and law abiding adding that the appeal court would vindicate them and return their mandate to them.

Meanwhile the Tribunal has reserved judgment for the petitions brought before it by the candidate of the All Nigeria People’s Party ANPP in the Ebonyi Central Senatorial zone Chief Innocent Ugo Chima against the People’s Democratic Party PDP Chief Paulinus Igwe Nwagu.