Uba Brothers’ petitions against Ifeanyi Ubah lacked merit ~ Tribunal

In two separate unanimous judgments, the National Assembly/Legislative Houses Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Awka, has affirmed the election of the Chairman of Capital Oil, Chief Ifeanyi Ubah, as Senator representing Anambra South Senatorial District.

The three-member panel tribunal headed by Justice Okara Ebimie Thelma, in the judgments it delivered on September 9, dismissed two petitions marked EPT/AN/SEN/11/2019 and EPT/AN/SEN/09/2019, filed before by Chief Chris Uba and his brother, Senator Andy Uba.

The tribunal held that both petitions challenging the outcome of the Anambra South Senatorial election, lacked competence, insisting that the petitioners, failed to establish why the result announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should not be upheld.

While 1st petitioner, Chris, contested on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Andy, was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the senatorial held on February 23.

They had separately approached the tribunal to challenge the declaration of Ubahi as the winner of the election.

Cited as 1st to 11th Respondents in the first petition were INEC, Returning Officer, Anambra South Senatorial District, the Collation Officers of Aguata, Orumba North, Orumba South, Ihiala, Nnewi North, Nnewi South, and Ekwisigo Local Government Areas, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Anambra State, and Senator Ubah.

Specifically, Chris had in the petition he filed on March 16, told the tribunal that while INEC credited him with 52, 462 votes, the YPP candidate was declared a winner with 87, 081 votes.

He told the tribunal that other leading candidates were Ukachukwu Nicholas of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) who got 51, 269 votes, and Andy who polled 13, 245 votes.

He argued that the declaration of Ubah as winner of the election was unlawful and invalid as he did not score majority of the lawful votes cast at the election.