Tribunal upholds Akpabio’s election as senator

The National Assembly Elections Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja on Wednesday dismissed a petition by the All Progressives Congress senatorial candidate for Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District, Chief Inibehe Okorie.
Okorie had gone to the tribunal to challenge the election of the Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, as the duly elected representative of the senatorial district.
In a judgement which lasted about one hour thirty minutes, the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Goddy Anunihu, with other two justices dismissed the petition against Akpabio.
The judges described it as baseless and lacking in merit.
Okorie had claimed that due to a clerical error, Chief Akpabio of the Peoples Democratic Party was not the candidate for Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District, a position the Judges said was untenable as it was only the party which sponsored the candidate that can determine who its candidate was.
The Tribunal held that the error in the nomination form was not enough reason to nullify the election.
According to Justice Anunihu, the nomination of a candidate was the domestic affairs of the political party and the court could not interfere with it.
The judges also held that the petitioner failed to prove that the alleged violence on the day of the election could be linked to Chief Akpabio and dismissed an uncertified computer print out of accredited voters, which they said was not known to law.
In the unanimous decision, the judges dismissed the case in its entirety and awarded a cost of N2,500 against Okorie.
In his reaction, Akpabio said he was grateful that the judiciary has affirmed the wishes of the people of Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District as freely expressed by them on March 28.
He said the victory would be an added impetus for him to continue to give quality representation to the Senatorial District, Akwa Ibom State, the South South and Nigeria as a whole.