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A recent ruling by the National Election Petition Tribunal in Ebonyi State has led to the ousting of Simon Atigwe from his role as House of Representatives member for Igbo-Eze North/Udenu Federal Constituency in Enugu State.
On Wednesday, the tribunal, presided over by Justice H. N. Kunaza, handed down a ruling that not only removed Simon Atigwe from his position but also declared Dennis Agbo, the Labour Party candidate, the winner of the February 2023 rerun election, bringing clarity to the disputed seat.
Initially, INEC announced Dennis Agbo, the Labour Party candidate, as the winner of the February 25, 2023, National Assembly Election in the constituency. Nevertheless, Oby Ajih, the APC candidate, disputed the result, appealing to the Court of Appeal in Lagos State.
Ajih’s legal challenge centered on the absence of her party’s logo on the INEC’s EC8A form, which she claimed invalidated the election.
The court upheld her argument in November 2023, setting aside the original result and mandating a fresh election within 90 days.
The rerun election held on February 3 resulted in a win for Simon Atigwe of the PDP, who was later sworn into office, marking a new chapter in the constituency’s representation.
Read also: Enugu LG Polls: Lawmaker Predicts Landslide Win For LP Again
However, Agbo proceeded to the tribunal to challenge Atigwe’s declaration. He argued that the rerun election was marred irregularities including wrong computation of results and non-compliance to the Electoral Law 2022, among others.
Delivering judgement on yesterday, the tribunal held that Agbo’s petition had merit and consequently declared him the actual winner of the re-run election for the constituency.
The panel ruled that Atigwe was not duly elected by the valid votes cast as the petitioner (Agbo) won with 23,221 and PDP 21,863 votes. It ordered INEC to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Mr Atigwe and issue it to Agbo.
