The governorship Election Petition tribunal for IMO sitting in Abuja on Saturday affirmed the election of Gov. Emeka Ihedioha of IMO.
The tribunal Saturday laid-off the petition filed against Ihedioha by three political parties – Action Alliance (AA), All Progressives Congress (APC) and also the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
The parties aboard their governorship candidates, Mr Uche Nwosu, Sen. Hope Uzodinma and sen. Ifeanyi Ararume had asked the court to the nullify the election of Ihedioha on the ground that he was unlawfully declared as the governor of the state by the independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Delivering judgment, Chairman of the court, Justice Mallami Umar-Dogondagi, laid-off the petition of the candidate of the AA Party, Nwosu, for incompetence.
In a nem con call, the three-member panel, additionally smitten out the petition of APC candidate Uzodinma.
The court held that the three petitions challenging the declaration of Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), lacked advantage.
The petitioners, challenged the emergence of the PDP candidate as winner of the March, 9 governorship election on the grounds that the election was marred by irregularities.
The court control that candidate of the Action Alliance, AA, Uche Nwosu, Ifeanyi Ararume of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, and Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress, APC, did not establish their petitions against governor Ihedioha.
The court control that the petitioners did not discharge the burden of proof placed on them by the law.
Umar-Dogodaji stressed that sen. Uzodinma of the APC was unable to prove his allegation that wrongful collation of results by INEC led to Ihedioha’s emergence as winner of the governorship election.
NAN reports that sen. Ararume and Nwosu had approached the court to cancel the election on the grounds that the declared winner failed to meet the obligatory 25 per cent in two third of the local government areas in the state.
On his aspect, Sen. Uzodimma, approached the court and asked that he be declare him the rightful winner of the election, based on non-inclusion of results from 366 polling booths out of the INEC approved 388 booths within the state.
