LP, Edeoga, fault Enugu Tribunal verdict, set for appeal
By Emma Ogbuehi
Labour Party (LP) and its Enugu State governorship candidate, Chijioke Jonathan Edeoga, have faulted the Thursday Election Petitions Tribunal ruling which validated the election of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Mbah, as the winner of the March 18, 2023 governorship election in the state.
The party in a statement by Edeoga/Nwokeabia Campagn Organisation, indicated its intention to appeal the judgement, stressing that it will go the full extent legally possible in ensuring that the hopes of Enugu people who turned out in their numbers to vote for Labour Party candidates on March 18, 2023 are realised.
The release stated; “We wish to convey the acknowledgment by the Labour Party and its candidate, Chijioke Edeoga, of the judgement as delivered at the tribunal, and to state our preparedness to challenge the outcome of this judgement at the Court of Appeal and to all extents as permitted by law.
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“To this end, we urge our supporters across the state and in other parts of the country to remain calm, law-abiding, and to go about their businesses without fear or hindrance”.
The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Enugu State has upheld the election of Governor Peter Mbah of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the March 18 governorship election.
The three-member panel of the tribunal led by Justice Kudirat Murayo dismissed the petitions of the Labour Party (LP) and its candidate, Chijioke Edeoga, insisting that they could not prove their petitions.
In dismissing the petitioners’ petition, the tribunal declared that the National Youth Service Corps discharge certificate is not a qualification to contest a governorship election.
Edeoga is challenging the return of Mbah as duly elected governor of Enugu state on grounds of submitting a forged NYSC discharge certificate, over voting, among others.
However, delivering judgement on Thursday on the petition, the tribunal struck out the forgery of the NYSC certificate case, saying “NYSC discharge Certificate is not a qualification for governorship.”
The court queried “Assuming that the NYSC discharge certificate of the second Respondent as claimed by the Petitioners was forged, is the NYSC Certificate a qualification to contest for Governor in Nigeria according to the constitution? The answer is no.”