A-Ibom gov poll: Emmanuel, PDP file separate appeals against tribunal judgment

Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, have separately gone before the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, to challenge the tribunal judgment that nullified the governorship election results in 18 local government areas, LGAs, in the state.

The two appellants are praying the higher court to set aside the verdict of the Justice Ishaq Umar-led tribunal, which had on October 21, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to conduct re-run election in 18 out of 31 LGAs in the state.

The tribunal specifically held that it was satisfied that a total of 566, 436 voters in the affected areas were disenfranchised during the governorship election that held in the state on April 11, 2015.

According to the tribunal, section 108 (2) of the Electoral Act, empowered it to, in view of circumstances that surrounded the governorship election in the 18 LGAs, nullify the outcome  and order INEC to organise a re-run.

It enumerated the LGAs where INEC must conduct a re-run poll within 90 days, as Etim Ekpo, Uyo, Ikono, Ibesikpo, Onna, Ikono, Oruk Anam, Uruan, Ibeno, Ibiono Ibom, Nsit-Ibom, Nsit-Ubium, Ini, Oron, Nsit-Atai, Etinan, Udung-Uko and Eket.

The decision of the tribunal was sequel to a petition that was lodged against the election by the All Progressives Congress, APC, and its governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom State, Chief Umana Okon Umana.

Even though the petitioners alleged that the governorship election was generally  fraught with manifest irregularities, however, it was the view of the tribunal that  the alleged electoral anomalies and non-complaince to the Electoral Act, were not enough to warrant outright nullification of election results from all the 31 LGAs in the state.

Both the petitioners and the respondents had since expressed their dissatisfaction with the judgement of the tribunal, with the APC and its candidate insisting  that the poll ought to have been nullified in its entirety and a fresh election ordered.

Meanwhile, in their bid to reverse the decision of the tribunal, PDP raised 20 grounds of appeal while Governor Emmanuel anchored his reason why the appeal court should uphold results of the election that brought him to power, on two grounds.

The two appellants are praying the court to hold that election was duly conducted in the aforementioned 18 LGAs, in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

Governor Udom and his party faulted the judgment of the tribunal in nullifying results in the said LGAs on the premise that the petitioners, did not plead any fact to the effect   that voters in the 18 LGAs were disenfranchised.

According to them, neither the APC nor its candidate at the poll, Umana, adduced any evidence to support claims that voters were in any way, disenfranchised in the affected areas.

In his appeal, governor  Udom told the appellate court that: “The petitioners did not in their petition at all plead the facts of voters’ disenfranchisement in the 18 councils.”