…urges tribunal to collate Warri South LG results

Honourable Michael Diden, candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Tribunal in Asaba, Delta State.

Specifically, Honourable Diden and his party, the PDP, in their petition marked EPT/DT/SEN/ 01/2023, are asking the tribunal to void INEC’s declaration of candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Mr Ewomazino Thomas Joel-Onowakpo as Senator-elect.

They predicated their request on the grounds that Joel-Onowakpo “was not duly elected by majority of lawful votes cast at the election” and the his election “was invalid by reason of non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022”.

In the petition dated and filed on March 17, 2023 by their team of lawyers led by Chief Ayo Asala, SAN, the petitioners amongst others are seeking an order of the tribunal “collating the results of the election conducted in Warri South Local Government Area to the lawful votes recorded in favour of the parties and declare the winner of the election based on the collation”.

Prof. Anthony Peretimina, Returning Officer for Delta South Senatorial Election had last month announced the APC’s candidate as winner of the Delta South Senatorial poll having scored a total of 49, 955 votes cast at the election.

The returning officer also announced PDP’s candidate as 1st runners up having polled a total of 47, 656 votes cast at the election.

But, the petitioners faulted the Returning Officer for not complying with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022, and the extant Regulations, Guidelines and Manual for Election Officials in the collation and declaration of the final results in the senatorial district.

According to them, election was held in all the eight LGAs consisting of the Delta South Senatorial District, but INEC refused to include results from Warri South LGA in its final computation of results and subsequent declaration of the APC as winner of the senatorial election in the district.

The petitioners claimed that the action of INEC despite protest from petitioners’ agents amounts to a breach of the Electoral Act, 2022 and INEC’s Regulations and Guidelines.

“The Petitioners shall contend at the hearing that the Local Government Collation Officer and Collation/Retuning Officer have no power to cancel and/or exclude any results validly declared at the polling unit level and that the decision of Local Government Collation Officer and Collation/Returning Officer in cancelling the result in Ward 06-Bowen and excluding lawful votes from the entire Warri South Local Government Area is contrary to the relevant laws, Guidelines and Manual issued by the 1st Respondent to guide the conduct of the election. .

“The Petitioners state that the election in Warri South Local Government Area was peacefully conducted in accordance with the procedure spelt out in the Electoral Act, 2022, Guidelines and Manuals issued by the 1st Respondent as spelt out in paragraph 12 of the Petition.

“The Petitioners aver that the senatorial election in Warri South Local Government Area was simultaneously conducted with the Presidential and House of Representatives elections by the 1st Respondent on February 25, 2023. The processes of accreditation, voting, sorting and counting of the ballot papers and announcement of results at the polling units in Warri South Local Government Area were done contemporaneously with the Presidential and House of Representatives election at the same venue and time. At the end of the election, the 1st Respondent collated and announced the results of the elections with respect to the Presidential and House of Representatives elections.

“The Petitioners shall rely on a copy of Form EC8C issued by the 1 Respondent for the presidential election to show that election was peacefully conducted in Warri South Local Government Area including the senatorial election on February 25, 2023.

“The Petitioners shall at the hearing lead evidence to show that election was duly held and results declared in eleven (11) Wards out of the twelve (12) Wards in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State and that the 1st Respondent was wrong in excluding the results collated and submitted to the Returning Officer in the final declaration of results (Form EC8E(1)).

The Petitioners claimed that results of contestants in the 11 wards in Warri South Local Government Area based on collation from form EC8B (1) revealed that APC polled 3,057 votes; PDP – 10,610 and the other political parties – 9,357.

“The Petitioners shall contend at the hearing that after the collation of the valid votes from Warri South Local Government Area which was unlawfully excluded from the computation of the final result by the 1st Respondent, the Petitioners scored a majority valid votes of 58,266 as against the 2nd Respondent’s valid votes of 53,012 and that having scored the majority of the valid and lawful votes cast at the said elections, the 1st Petitioner is the winner of the said election and duly elected and returned as the Senator representing Delta South Senatorial District in the National Assembly.

“The Petitioners urge that it may also be determined and thus declared that the 2nd Respondent was not duly elected or returned by the majority of lawful votes cast at the Delta South Senatorial election held on February 25, 2023.

“The Petitioners also urge that it may be determined and thus declared that by the lawful votes cast at the Delta South Senatorial election held on February 25, 2023 the 1st Petitioner Diden Michael of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the 2nd Petitioner, ought to have been returned and should be returned as the duly elected Senator representing Delta South Senatorial District of Delta State.”