The electoral victory of Senator Orji Kalu representing Abia-North Senatorial district, has been upheld by the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Umuahia.
In a unanimous verdict on Tuesday, a three-member panel chaired by Justice Samson Paul-Gang dismissed the petitions of the People’s Democratic Party’s Mao Ohuabunwa and the Labour Party’s Nnamdi Iro-Orji as lacking substance.
While upholding Kalu’s victory of the All Progressives Congress, APC, the court stated that his election followed the terms of the Electoral Act.
The tribunal judges also rejected both petitioners’ claims that the election did not take place in over 120 polling units, primarily in the zone’s Ohafia and Arochukwu Local Government Areas.
Both the runner-up, Iro-Orji, and the third-place finisher, Ohuabunwa, filed separate lawsuits asking the court to nullify the election of the former Abia Governor as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The tribunal also rejected the PDP’s and Labour Party’s petition on the grounds that the margin of victory for Kalu over the first and second place finishers was far larger than the total number of registered voters in the allegedly affected polling units.
The Supreme Court’s constitutional interpretation also upheld Kalu’s eligibility to run for office after it had previously overturned his prosecution and conviction.
The tribunal justices also interpreted and dismissed two other challenges brought by the Labour Party, making it official that Kalu was the lawfully elected Senator of Abia North.
Kalu, the incumbent Chairman of the Senate Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation, won the heatedly contested senate election on February 25 with 30,805 votes, beating out Iro-Orji and Ohuabunwa, who received 27,540 and 15,175 votes, respectively. This result was announced by INEC.
