The State and National Assembly Appeal Court in Lagos has validated Peter Mbah’s election as Governor of Enugu State.
In a unanimous decision, the Appellate Court dismissed three concerns presented by the opposing side.
The three-member panel, led by Justice Tani Yusuf-Hassan, decided that the Labour Party (LP) and its governorship candidate failed to produce adequate evidence to indicate that Mbah was ineligible to run for office.
In her lead judgment, Justice Hassan said that the “Voters’ Register” was not produced before the lower tribunal in relation to the charge of over-voting.
The failure to present the voters’ register, she claimed, rendered the appeal inadmissible.
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The court also ruled that the witnesses produced by the Labour Party did not provide adequate evidence of over-voting in the governorship race.
As a result, the appeal was denied for lack of merit, upholding the election tribunal’s decision that Peter Mbah of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was the victor of the March 18 governorship election.
According to the Nigerian News Agency (NAN), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) certified Gov. Mbah the winner of the March 18 governorship election with 160,895 votes.
Edeoga of the LP finished second with 157,552 votes, while Frank Nweke of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) finished third with 17, 983 votes.
Dissatisfied with the results, Edeoga and his party filed a petition challenging Mbah’s victory, requesting that they be recognized the winners based on having the most valid votes.
Mbah was also accused of forging a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) credential, according to the petitioners.
However, the Enugu State governorship election petition tribunal found in Mbah’s favor, ruling that he met the election’s basic qualifications, which included having a school diploma or its equivalent.
The panel dismissed Edeoga’s witnesses, noting that the petitioner failed to submit any acceptable evidence proving that Mbah’s certificate was fake.
