Abia: Tribunal strikes out suit against deputy speaker

The Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Umuahia, struck out the case against the member representing Ohafia south constituency, Hon. Ifeanyi Francis Uchendu who is the deputy speaker of the State House of Assembly.

The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon. Dr. Anya Inyima, on the 30th day of March, 2019, had filed a suit challenging the emergence of Rt. Hon. Uchendu (PDP) as the duly elected member in the House of Assembly election held on 9th day of March 2019 at Ohafia.

In the suit No: EPT/AB/HA/15/2019, Anya Inyima Kalu vs Independent National Electoral Commission, Francis Ifeanyi Uchendu and 2 others, the APC candidate had prayed the court to cancel the election which produced the candidate of the PDP, Rt. Hon. Uchendu as the winner as declared by the INEC’s returning Officer in the election.

But in a twist of event, the petitioner filed a notice of motion to withdraw his petition, stating that he had hurriedly approached the court with the hope of assembling the unit election documents with the result sheets which he was unable to do on time.

He affirmed that after eventually gathering his figures, it was clear that the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Hon. Ifeanyi Uchendu had won the election outrightly and as a result, approached the court for the withdrawal of his earlier petition.

In her ruling, the three man panel of the election tribunal, chaired by Hon. Justice Cornelius Elori Akintayo with Hon. Justice I. P. C. Igwe and Hon. Justice Ibrahim Abubakar as member 1 and 2, granted the application of the petitioner by striking out the case instituted by him against Rt.Hon. Uchendu.

Another election petition tribunal had, on the 15th of May, 2019, struck out the suit with the No: EPT/AB/HA/11/2019, which was filled by the candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) Hon. Leonard Umezuruike, challenging the declaration of Rt. Hon. Uchendu as the winner of the state house of assembly election for Ohafia South Constituency.