IT was victory for Governors Sullivan Chime (Enugu), Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), Martin Elechi (Ebonyi) and Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara) yesterday as their elections were upheld by the tribunal in their respective states.Relying on Section 87 [9] of the Electoral Act, Chairman of the Governorship and National Assembly Election Tribunal sitting in Enugu, Justice Sunday Otu struck out the petition of Chief Okey Ezea of the Labour Party, stressing that the tribunal lacked jurisdiction to entertain the case which he described as a pre-election matter.At the conclusion of the April governorship election in which the Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC] declared Chime the winner, having secured the highest number of votes, Ezea had petitioned the tribunal, alleging, among other things, non-compliance of the election with the Electoral Act.Ezea, who came second in the election had specifically alleged that Chime was not properly sponsored by the PDP since the primaries from which he emerged was not conducted at the time allowed by the INEC, stressing that it was in contravention of the 21 days stipulated in section 85 of the Electoral Act. He further alleged that the elections were marred by multiple thumb printing by supporters and members of the PDP.Ruling on the petition yesterday, Otu said he discovered that most parts of the petition deals with pre-election issues, stressing that these were not within his jurisdiction but that of the federal or state high courts.The judge further ruled that the petitioner failed to prove beyond reasonable doubts allegations of irregularities as there was no evidence before him that there were multiple thumb printing in the exercise.He therefore upheld Chime's election, awarding N100,000 cost against the petitioner.In the verdict in Delta, Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Joy Uwana, cancelled the results of the entire Bomadi and Burutu local councils because 'there was absence of the constituent elements of an electoral process' while the results of some wards and units in Warri South West, Warri North, Warri South and Ethiope West councils were nullified.Going by the results of the April 26 governorship election, as announced by the Returning Officer and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Benin, Prof Richard Anao, Uduaghan of the PDP scored 525, 792, while Ogboru polled 433,834.Justice Unwana said: 'Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, the candidate of the second respondent, PDP, still has the majority vote of 422, 509, against the first petitioner, Chief Great Ogboru's vote of 410, 556.'Accurate computation of the figure has shown that the nullification of the votes did not substantially affect the outcome of the final result. The final figure set out above showed that the first respondent also has not less than one quarter of the two-thirds of the councils in Delta State.'Justice Unwana said the tribunal had no choice but to nullify some results as INEC failed to provide the ballot papers for the contested areas.But the state Chairman of DPP, Chief Tony Ezeagwu, expressed dissatisfaction with the judgment and disclosed the party's intention to challenge it.Ogboru, who spoke through his younger brother, Turner, echoed Ezeagwu position, saying 'we are happy and grateful in this first phase of judgment. We have cause to say we have won. Governor Uduaghan cannot have results without ballot papers, without the Forms EC8A-E, EC25B, EC40A and EC40C, EC40C and EC40A that we tendered in.'But Uduaghan, through the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Chike Ogeah, said that there was no victor, no vanquished. 'Ogboru should sheath his sword for the interest of peace, growth and development of the state,' he said.In Ebonyi, the tribunal upheld the election of Governor Elechi of the PDP in the April 26 general elections as announced by INEC in the State.In its judgment read by Justice Nuhu Galadanchi, the tribunal dismissed the petition filed by the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) candidate, Senator Julius Ucha, for want of merit.Ucha had in his petition claimed that the election was marred by gross irregularities including massive thumb printing of ballot papers, inducement of voters and violence and therefore prayed the tribunal to declare him winner, since, according to him, he scored the highest number of valid votes cast.But the tribunal chairman stated that going by their evaluation of the facts pleaded, the petitioners failed to discharge the onus of proof placed on them by law to establish that elections in the 13 local councils were invalid or void by reason of corrupt practices.'The petitioners have failed to give cogent evidence to sustain all the grounds upon which they question the election. Consequently, we hereby refuse all the relief sought in this petition, and the petition is hereby accordingly dismissed,' the tribunal ruled.Affirming the election of Ahmed in Kwara, the chairman of the tribunal Justice Ngozi Ehemelu said the petitioners, Action Congress of Nigeria( ACN) and its governorship candidate Dele Belgore failed to substantially proved their allegations.The tribunal while determining some of the issues raised in the petition, such as non-compliance with provisions of the Electoral Acts 2010 as amended, electoral malpractices and non-joinder of proper parties, said the petitioners failed to establish their cases on preponderance of evidence as required by the Electoral Act and declared that 'the case is accordingly dismissed'.Besides, the tribunal said it could not rely on the evidence of the forensic expert brought by the petitioners.For the judge, allegations of fraudulent practices observed in five of the existing 16 local councils were not substantial reasons to vitiate the results of the polls as canvassed by the petitioners, citing Agagu vs Mimiko. On the failure by the second respondent to pay the filing fees of his petition within the required time frame as required by the relevant Acts, Ehemelu opined that it was though a necessary legal requirement, which a timely correction could perfect. She added that failure not to pay was weightier than not paying the correct fees.
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