Prof Benard Odoh, Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in the March 18 gubernatorial election in Ebonyi State, has tendered his final written address before the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, stressing that Hon Francis Nwifuru was declared in error as Governor by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
He had in a petition filed at the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal challenged the Independent National Electoral Commission’s declaration of Nwifuru as Governor.
Odoh is also praying the Court to hold that at the time of the gubernatorial election, Nwifuru was not qualified to contest on the grounds that he was still holding sway as Speaker of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, instead of the All Progressives Congress, under which he was declared as Governor by INEC.
However, in his final written address, which was signed and submitted by his Lead Counsel, J.S. Okutepa SAN, the APGA candidate said it was unknown to any law in Nigeria for INEC to declare Nwifuru Governor on the stable of the APC, while he was still retaining his membership in the PDP.
The final written address reads thus: “This is the final written address of the Petitioners in this petition.
“Following the election conducted by the 1st Respondent on the 18th day of March 2023, for the office of the Governor of Ebonyi State, the 2nd Respondent (Nwifuru Francis Ogbonna) who was at the time of the election, a member of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly under the platform of the Peoples’ Democratic Party and the Speaker of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, and who was not qualified to contest the election, was declared by the 1st Respondent as the winner of the election.
“Consequently, the case of the Petitioner’s is that the 2nd Respondent cannot be qualified to contest the election as candidate of the 3rd Respondent while being a member of another Political party in gross violation of both the Electoral Act 2022 and the 1999 Constitution as amended.
