* as tribunal shifts judgement to Abuja
The Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal will on Saturday, September 21 deliver judgement in the petitions filed by three political parties against the election of Emeka Ihedioha as the governor of Imo state.
The Secretary of the tribunal, Balarabe Garba, who disclosed this in an interview with our correspondent on Wednesday, said the judgement will be delivered at Jabi High Court 5, in Abuja by 9:00am.
The governorship candidates of the Action Alliance (AA) in the election, Ugwumba Uche Nwosu and his counterparts in the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hope Uzodinma and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Ifeanyi Araraume, had filed petitions at the tribunal asking it to nullify the election of Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the ground that Ihedioha was unlawfully declared as the governor of the state by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
All the parties had on Sunday, September 8, adopted all their written addresses where they told the tribunal that Ihedioha did not win the March 9, 2019 governorship election in the state.
Uzodinma, through his counsel, Olusola Oke (SAN), is asking the tribunal to declare him as winner of the election.
He contended that the results he obtained from 388 polling units were not given to him, making the PDP to have an edge over him.
In his own submission, Nwosu through his counsel, Niyi Akintola, also asked the tribunal to either cancel the election or order a supplementary election between him and Ihedioha.
He told the tribunal that Ihedioha did not meet the constitutional requirements of one quarter of the votes cast in at least two-thirds of the 27 local government areas of the state.
He also contended that the votes allocated to Ihedioha in the three local government areas of Aboh, Ahiazu and Ezinihitte Mbaise did not tally with the number of registered voters.
Araraume, on the other hand, is asking the tribunal Ararume to void Ihedioha’s election on the grounds that it was invalid and non-compliant with the provision of the Electoral Act 2010 and the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
In his petition no: IM/EPT/GOV/03/2019, Ararume also asked for an order directing the INEC to conduct a fresh gubernatorial election in Imo state in compliance with the provision of the 1999 constitution and the Electoral Act.
He contended that all the scores and purported votes from Aboh Mbaise, Ahiazu Mbaise, Ehime Mbano and other 17 local government council areas of the states, were void and unlawful.
