Tribunal dismisses Imo representative member Ikenga Ugochinyere

Ikenga Ugochinyere, a member of the House of Representatives, has been sacked by the Imo State National and State House of Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal.

Under the banner of the Peoples Democratic Party, or PDP, Ugochinyere ran for office.

The tribunal ruled that Ugochinyere was ineligible to run in the Ideato North/South Federal Constituency election and ordered a second election to be held in the state within 90 days.

With 13, 026 votes, the Independent National Electoral Commission, or INEC, declared Ugochinyere the winner of the election.

The candidate for the Labour Party, LP, Obi Chigozie, received 5,696 votes, while Abazu Benson, who was running for the All Progressives Congress, received 2,368 votes.

Benson, an APC candidate, submitted a petition with the following markings to the tribunal: EPT/IM/HR/10/2023.

The first to fifth responders were named INEC, Ugochinyere, the PDP, Obi Paschal Chigozie, a candidate for the Labour Party, and his organization, the LP.

The APC candidate contended in the appeal that Ugochinyere was ineligible to compete for office and that all of the votes that were given to him were invalid.

The PDP held their primary poll at a location outside the constituency, the APC candidate claimed, in violation of the Electoral Act of 2022.

The three-member tribunal panel, which met in Nasarawa State and reached a unanimous judgment on Sunday, determined that Ugochinyere was not legally nominated to run for office by the PDP.

Justice Anthony Akpovi, the panel's chairman, gave the ruling and expressly instructed the electoral umpire to hold the additional vote within 90 days.

The panel further stated that the PDP and its candidate ought to be disqualified from the additional vote.

Source