Ebonyi by-election: Onu, PDP Drags APC's Candidate, Ani, To Court Over Alleged Certificate Forgery, Over Voting
By Oko OMAKAH (Abakaliki)
The battle over who is the authentic winner of the Ebonyi South senatorial by-election has continued as candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Silas Onu, has dragged the All Progressive Congress (APC) Candidate, Prof. Anthony Ani, to court over allegations of certificate forgery and over voting.
Mr Onu in the petition is also contending that the declaration of Mr Ani as winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is invalid by reasons of non-compliance to the electoral act even as he was not legible to stand for the election held on February 3, 2024.
Mr Onu, the first petitioner, is seeking Ani's disqualification on grounds of ineligibility to stand for the poll.
PDP is the second petitioner while INEC, Mr Ani and his party, APC, are the first, second and third respondents respectively.
The National Assembly declared the seat vacant following former Governor David Umahi's appointment as Minister by President Bola Tinubu. Umahi won the 2023 election to represent the zone.
At the by-elelction, conducted by INEC to fill the vacant seat, Ani was declared and returned Mr Ani as winner of the election with 46, 270 votes while Anthony Eleje candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) came second and Mr Silas Onu came distant third.
But dissatisfied by the outcome, Onu rejected the result and proceeded to Tribunal to challenge the processes that threw up the PDP candidate and the party.
Onu, in the petition to the Tribunal, is urging it to disqualify Ani on grounds of forgery and inability to resign his position as a public servant before the said election.
He also alleged that Mr Ani, who is the second respondent, presented forged brith certificate to the first respondent (INEC) contrary to section 66 of the Constitution. He also alleged that Mr Ani did not resign as a lecturer at the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO) before the election as required for public servants. According to him, while Mr Ani in documents submitted to INEC claimed to have resigned on December 20, 2023, he however, continued to receive salaries after the said date of resignation. The petitioners contend that the requirement for public servants who wishes to contest election into the Nigerian Senate to resign in-line with section 6 (1)(f) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) is sacrosanct and cannot be waived or ignored. They, therefore, urge the Tribunal to declare the election as conducted in Afikpo local government area invalid due to over voting, alleging that the facts before them show that INEC failed to comply with the electoral act which prescribed cancellation of election results in polling units where number of votes exceeded number of accredited voters in the local government area. They further urge the Tribunal to issue "an order cancelling all the entire result of Afikpo North local government area and declaring same as invalid votes. “An Order upholding the results from Afikpo South, Ivo, Ohaozara and Onicha Local Government Areas as the lawful valid votes for the election. “That it may be determined that the 2nd Respondent was at the time of the election not qualified to contest the election and that the return of the 2nd Respondents by the 1st Respondent is wrongful, unlawful, undue, null and void having not satisfied the requirements of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) which mandatorily requires the 2nd Respondent to resign before contesting the election. Onu &Anor. Vs. INEC & others. “That it may be determined that all votes cast for the 2nd and 3rd Respondents are wasted votes and therefore the declaration and return of the 2nd Respondent by the 1s Respondent as the winner of the Ebonyi South Senatorial Bye-Election conducted on Saturday 3rd February, 2024 is unlawful, wrongful, unconstitutional, undue, null and void and of no effect
