27th September, 2023
By Taiye Agbaje
The Ebonyi State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal has dismissed a petition submitted by Prof. Benard Odoh of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) against Governor Francis Nwifuru of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Presided by Justice Lekan Ogunmoye, the three-member tribunal panel dismissed the petition.
According to the tribunal, the petitioners lacked the necessary standing to bring the case forward because the problems stated were regarded to be internal APC matters.
Odoh and APGA were displeased with the outcome of the March 18 governorship election in Ebonyi, and filed a petition (marked: EPT/EB/GOV/01/2023) against INEC, Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, and the APC.
Their main point was that Nwifuru’s APC candidature was unconstitutional because he was still a member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) during his tenure as Speaker of the House of Assembly when he was nominated by the APC.
But, the tribunal’s verdict emphasised that the APGA had failed to appeal a Federal High Court decision that had previously validated the governor’s defection. This decision resulted in the petition being dismissed.
NAN