Imo Tribunal Sacks Ikenga Ugochinyere of PDP

In a significant legal development, the Imo State National and State House of Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal has disqualified a member of the House of Representatives, Ikenga Ugochinyere, who represented the Ideato North/South Federal Constituency.

This decision was based on the grounds of his invalid nomination as a candidate.

Ikenga Ugochinyere, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had been declared the winner of the February 25 election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), garnering 13,026 votes.

However, the candidate of the Labour Party, Chigozie, who secured 5,696 votes, and the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abazu Benson, who received 2,368 votes, contested the validity of Ugochinyere’s candidacy and the election results.

The APC candidate filed a petition before the tribunal, alleging that Ugochinyere was not qualified to participate in the House of Representatives contest. He argued that all the votes attributed to the PDP candidate were wasted votes. Additionally, the petitioner claimed that the PDP conducted its primary election outside the constituency, violating the Electoral Act.

In a unanimous decision, the three-member panel of the tribunal held that Ugochinyere was not validly nominated by the PDP to contest the election. The tribunal directed INEC to conduct a supplementary poll within 90 days, excluding the PDP and its candidate from the supplementary election. The tribunal concluded that the primary election conducted by the PDP, which produced Ugochinyere as its candidate, was invalid because it took place at a venue outside the constituency, contrary to the Electoral Act.

• LP Candidate Disqualified in House of Reps Election
• PDP Set to Take Action on Wike’s Ministerial Nomination by Tinubu
• PDP Governors Advise President Tinubu against Military Action in Niger Republic
• Keyamo Makes Tinubu’s Revised Ministerial Nomination List; Femi Fani-Kayode Left Out
• INEC Reviews 2023 General Election, Seeks Input on Improving Future Elections
• Supreme Court Upholds Senator Athan as Imo LP Gubernatorial Candidate
• Gov. Uzodinma Promises to Relocate 4,000 Imo Youths to Europe , Canada
• INEC Trains Officers Ahead of Imo Guber Election

The tribunal emphasized that a valid candidate could not have emerged from an invalid primary election, and it cited the Electoral Act to underscore the importance of adhering to electoral procedures. This ruling has far-reaching implications for the representation of Ideato North/South Federal Constituency and may lead to a reevaluation of election processes within the PDP.

Justice Anthony Akpovi, the tribunal’s chairman, delivered the lead judgment, with Justices Usman Kudu and Ibrahim Mohammed concurring with the decision. This legal development is expected to have a significant impact on the political landscape in Imo State.