My victory at tribunal was arranged by God – Umeh

Victor Umeh has attributed his victories in the different suits filed against his declaration as the winner of the contest for Anambra Central Senatorial District election in the February 25 election to God.

Umeh said God did everything to pave the way for his overwhelming victory during the 2023 elections and in the tribunal where a number of petitions were filed against his triumph.

Umeh, a chieftain of the Labour Party (LP), made the remarks while reacting to the tribunal judgements which upheld his election as the Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial District.

In a statement he personally signed, the Umeh said: “To the glory of God, this is the second Judgment in the various Petitions filed against me.

“On Wednesday, the Election Petition Tribunal in Awka dismissed the Petition of the NNPP and her Candidate for lack of merit and abuse of court process.

“Today (Friday) also, the Petition by APGA and her Candidate was dismissed. This happened to be the big one because it generated lots of tension and hype. But I have remained calm over the period since after the Election because I knew I won the election and I did not do anything to compromise the process.

“The election went as designed by the Electoral Commission and the people of Anambra Central Senatorial District, convinced that I would represent them better than any other candidate, voted overwhelmingly for me.

“I scored over 103,608 votes, the person who came second scored 69,702 votes (that’s the APGA Candidate), and the PDP Candidate scored 49,532 votes. So looking at the margins, I did not see what anybody could go to the Tribunal to look for, as I was clearly the choice of the people.

“But they have gone to the Tribunal to claim all sorts of things and make so much noise about them. Mine is that I am a great stickler to due process, I always study the law and I follow it judiciously,” Umeh said.

He added that a High Court Order against his nomination was also set aside by the Appeal Court on the 23rd of February, just two days before the election.

“I was surprised that someone could go to the Tribunal to rely on the same Federal High Court Judgement to attempt to say that I was not a candidate in the election.

“So, this Judgment was well considered. I commend the Tribunal because they took all the issues they raised and trashed them based on Law. So there’s nothing anybody can complain about against this Judgement.

“I am happy because this Judgment has put to rest the distractions. No matter what they intend to do further, the distractions have abated. So that I can concentrate fully on working for my people. We have a lot of work to do for them, so it is important that we be given the space to go all out and do that work. Our people are challenged in Nigeria; my Constituency is challenged in Nigeria and I want to be given the opportunity to confront their problems head-on.

“With this victory, I think the coast is now very clear unless anybody has intentions to do anything further. But even if they do anything further, God who arranged my victory will not allow them. My victory was orchestrated by God. It was God who did everything—saw me through the Elections, gave me the victory and today, emphatically, all Petitions have been dismissed!” Umeh added.

The LP stalwart further stated: “September 8th is a special day for me, I am a Catholic and a Marian Devotee. I am a great follower of Mother Mary and today is Her birthday. When they scheduled the judgment on September 8th, I knew ‘they’ had lost. So I give all the glory to God. I dedicate this victory to the Blessed Virgin Mary whose Judgement coincided with Her birthday.

“I congratulate the Anambra Central people on this victory. The way they fought for me in this Election shows that they desire to have me as their Senator. I also want to thank all my supporters, my Campaign Organization, and the Ohamadike Media Team, they are very formidable.

“I thank my lawyers, the lead Counsels and for me, my personal Lawyer, Sir Patrick I.N. Ikwueto SAN who has been my lawyer since 2005. All my legal exploits, every time Victor Umeh wins, it has been through his hard work. In this petition, Chief Barrister Alexander Ejesieme SAN partnered with him. He was the lead Counsel to the Labour Party. So we all worked together. And their submissions became unassailable to see the Tribunal agreed with them in all the points of law they raised and the Petition was actually struck out for lacking in merit,” Umeh concluded.