Date: 2015-10-20

As the election petition tribunals round off their sittings across the country, JONATHAN NDA-ISAIAH reports on the winners and losers in the Senate.

As stipulated by the Electoral Act, election petition tribunal cases are expected to be concluded 180 days after elections. It would be recalled that the National Assembly elections held on March 28 this year, and the tribunal is expected to submit it's final report before the end of the month.

So far results have begun to trickle in across the country, eliciting joy and sadness in several quarters. LEADERSHIP recalls that the National Assembly election petition tribunal verdicts can only be challenged by the Appeal Court. So far ,the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) has been the worst hit in the senate. In the Upper House PDP has 49 senators to the APC's 59.

Bukola Saraki

The National Assembly Petition Tribunal in Ilorin has affirmed the election of Dr Bukola Saraki as a senator representing Kwara Central. Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Josiah Majebi, upheld Saraki's election when he delivered judgment in the petition filed by Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Majebi, in the judgment, held that Abdulrasaq failed to prove the reliefs sought against Saraki and also failed to prove that he scored the highest number of votes cast in the election.

He also agreed with Saraki's counsel that the petition was incompetent as it was filed outside the stipulated 21 days allowed by the Electoral Act 2010. The tribunal said it lacked jurisdiction to hear the petition based on the fact that it was filed out of time.

He, however, said the tribunal went ahead to look at the grounds of appeal and merit of the matter. Majebi noted that the oral evidences of four witnesses called by the petitioner failed to proof the case beyond doubt.

He said that the evidences of the two witnesses were "mere hearsay" as the first witness failed to identify the polling units where over voting took place, declaring the hearsay as mere speculative.

Hope Uzodinma

There was jubilation in the Orlu the country home of senator, Hope Uzodinma as the National State Assembly election tribunal sitting in Owerri , Imo state capital upheld the election of the former chairman, senate committee on Aviation as duly elected senator for Imo west the April 11 National Assembly poll.

His private home in Abuja also erupted in celebration when the news of his victory at the tribunal filtered into the federal capital. Senator Uzodinma in a statement in Abuja however attributed his "victory to the will of God and the overwhelming confidence his constituents repose in him."

According to him " throughout the duration of the trial, I had absolute confidence in judicial system and the will of God and most importantly the firm conviction that the will of the people must prevail".

The three-man panel in a unanimous decision rejected the petition of the APC candidate, senator Osita Izunaso, challenging the election of Uzodinma for lack of merit. The tribunal presided over by Justice Ali Garba from Yobe state held that the petitioner failed to prove that there were no elections in three local government areas of the senatorial zone, namely Oru East, Oguta, and Ohaji Eg ama.

The tribunal "further held that the petitioner failed to prove that the first respondent, senator Uzodinma did not score the majority of the lawful votes cast in the election and that the petitioner also failed to prove that he, Izunaso scored the majority of the lawful votes cast in the said election".

It would be recalled that the petition by the APC candidate was earlier dismissed by a similar tribunal headed by Justice A .Y Sanya which ruled that the petitioner abandoned his petition by failing to pay the appropriate filling fees for prehearing.

The tribunal ruled then that for failing to pay the required filling fees , the petitioner has dumped his petition.

But senator Izunaso in his wisdom appealed the ruling and the Appeal court ruled that the case should be heard on merit.

Mohammed Salami Ohiare

The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Lokoja upheld the election of Senator (Dr.) Mohammed Salami Ohiare in the March 28 2015 Kogi Central Senatorial Elections.

In a Unanimous judgement read by the tribunal chairman Justice Akon Ikpeme, the tribunal dismissed Honorable Ahmed Ogembe's petition challenging the return of Ohiare as the duly elected Senator for lack of merit.

Reacting to the Judgement, Senator Ohiare said: "Once again, the Judiciary has proved beyond any reasonable doubts that it is truly independent, and has remained the last hope of the common man in this country.

The Judiciary has reaffirmed that the good people of Kogi Central freely and overwhelmingly voted for me and my great party APC, and no one can steal that mandate through the back door".

Godswill Akpabio

The Akwa Ibom State National and State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja upheld the election of former Governor Godswill Akpabio of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District at the National Assembly.

In its judgment that lasted for about two hours, the three -man panel headed by Justice Daniel Anunihu held that the petitioners failed to establish their allegations that the election was marred by irregularities.

Chief Inibehe Okori and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the March 28, 2015 election had approach the tribunal to challenge the National Assembly election in the state, alleging that the election was marred by several irregularities.

They anchored their petition on two grounds, one of which was that Akpabio was not qualified to contest the election because he was not validly sponsored by the PDP.

They also alleged that the election was invalid on the grounds of corrupt practices and substantial non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2010.

They further joined Akpabio, INEC and the PDP as the co-respondents to the petition.

The petitioners predicated their first grounds of Akpabio's non-qualification to contest the election on a letter by the PDP to the Independent National Electoral Commission erroneously indicating Akpabio as the party's candidate for the Akwa Ibom North East Senatorial District Election instead of Akwa Ibom North West.

But the tribunal struck out all the issues raised by the petitioners on the grounds that the slip was a mere "clerical error" and was corrected in other documents, particularly Akpabio's INEC's Form CF001.

It said, "It does not affect the substance of the nomination of the first respondent (Akpabio) as the candidate of the third respondent (PDP)."