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In a move that promises to dramatically reshape the political terrain of Enugu State, the bye-election petition tribunal in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, has delivered a scathing verdict, stripping Simon Atigwe, the PDP’s House of Representatives member for Igboeze North/Udenu Federal Constituency, of his hard-won mandate.
Justice H. N. Kunaza, heading a three-member tribunal panel, has made a ruling, declaring Dennis Agbo, the Labour Party’s candidate, the true winner of the hotly contested February 3, 2024, rerun election, a decision that promises to bring closure to the prolonged electoral dispute.
Initially, Dennis Agbo had claimed the seat in the 2023 general election, but his celebration was cut short when the Court of Appeal intervened, invalidating his win and ordering a rerun in a small but crucial cluster of about ten polling units.
The February 3, 2024, rerun election was a nail-biter, with INEC declaring Simon Atigwe the winner by the slimmest of margins, 23,863 votes to Dennis Agbo’s 23,226, a difference of just 637 votes that would ultimately be challenged.
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Agbo, unhappy with the rerun poll’s outcome, filed a petition with the tribunal, contending that the election was compromised by incorrect result calculations and substantial breaches of the Electoral Act, which his lawyers argued invalidated the entire process.
Ruling on Wednesday, Justice Kunaza’s panel declared invalid, null and void the 2,000 votes added to the PDP candidate and restored the votes of February 25, 2023, of 14,229 for the PDP and 28,870 for the LP candidate, Dennis Agbo.
It also held that Atigwe was not duly elected by the valid votes cast, as the petitioner won with 23,221 and the PDP 21,863 votes and as such, the certificate of return issued to Atigwe should be withdrawn and issued to Agbo.
