Abia LP candidate heads to Appeal Court after tribunal favours Abaribe

Chinedu Onyeizu, the 2023 Labour Party (LP) candidate for Abia South senate seat of the National Assembly, has vowed to appeal the dismissal of his petition by the Election Petition Tribunal.

The tribunal, sitting in Umuahia, had dismissed Onyeizu’s petition against Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for failing to apply for pre-trial contrary to the first schedule of Electoral Act 2022.

Onyeizu had approached the tribunal challenging the declaration of Abaribe as the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Umuahia on Friday that he was not happy with the tribunal’s decision.

“My earlier request for the re-assignment of the case was turned down; so, I was not surprised about the tribunal’s decision,” he said.

He said that verifiable records showed that the three respondents: Abaribe, APGA and INEC were separately served the pre-trial notice, adding that whereas INEC acknowledged receipt of the notice, the other two did not.

“I’m escalating to the Appeal Court by God’s grace and I’m expecting the court to return my case file to another panel so that they can hear my case based on merit.

“The judiciary is supposed to be the last hope of the common man and I expect that to happen,” the LP candidate said.

The Returning Officer, Prof. Georgina Ugwuanyi had declared Abaribe as the winner of the seat with 49,903 votes, while Onyeizu came second with 43,903 votes.