The Ebonyi State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, affirmed the election of Governor Francis Nwifuru of the All Progressives Congress.
The tribunal dismissed the petitions of the Peoples Democratic Party and its governorship candidate, Ifeanyi Odii as well as the All Progressive Grand Alliance and its governorship candidate, Bernard Odoh.
Odii and the PDP argued that the governor was at the time of the election not qualified to contest on the platform of the APC because he was still a member of the Peoples Democratic Party.
But the All Progressives Congress claimed that the governor resigned from the PDP while serving as Speaker of the state House of Assembly, and defected to the APC before its primary election.
The three-member panel headed by Justice Lekan Ogunmoye on Wednesday held that the petitioners did not prove there was non-compliance with the Electoral Act in the election.
The tribunal also held that the petitioners did not prove that Nwifuru did not score the majority of lawful votes in the election.
On the APGA petition, the tribunal held that the petitioners failed to approach the proper court to entertain the issue of membership of a political party.
But the PDP vowed to appeal the tribunal’s judgment. It urged its supporters in the state to remain calm and peaceful, assuring that the party would reclaim its mandates at the appellate court.
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