Anthony Iwuoma
Contrary to the prophecy of the leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, the Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Owerri, Imo State, on Thursday delivered a final judgment on who represents Imo North Senatorial District in the Ninth Senate of the National Assembly.
The tribunal demolished the last semblance of opposition by dismissing the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, Chief Emmanuel Okewulonu, against the declaration of Sir Frank Ibezim as the winner of the keenly contested Senate seat.
Considering the preliminary objection of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and its candidate, Ibezim, the tribunal held that the petitioners had no locus standi to challenge the nomination, sponsorship of candidates of another political party, which is APC’s internal matter.
It further held that the petitioners’ petition constituted an abuse of court process because of the filed multiple suits they filed on the same pre-election matters in various courts and also included the same pre-election reliefs in their petition before the election tribunal.
Furthermore, the tribunal held that the petition did not disclose any reasonable cause of action and that it did not have the jurisdiction to entertain parts of the petition, bordering on the primary election.
Therefore, the tribunal upheld the preliminary objection of APC and struck out the petition.
Nevertheless, the tribunal still considered the merits of the petition and dismissed it on the grounds that the petitioners failed to plead and prove its case and the name of the candidate declared and returned as the winner of the election in accordance with the mandatory provisions of the Electoral Act, thus rendering the petition incompetent.
The tribunal also said the petitioners failed to prove its case by its inability to discharge the evidential burden of proof because the two witnesses of the petitioners gave hearsay and inadmissible evidence while the third witness denied his own averment, which was consequently expunged.
Moreover, the tribunal said it took Judicial Notice of the Supreme Court judgment, which confirmed Distinguished Senator Frank Ibezim as the authentic candidate of APC.
The tribunal further held that the petition lacked merit and thereby dismissed it in its entirety and awarded the cost of N500,000 in favour of each of the respondents against the petitioners.
The tribunal had yesterday dismissed the other two petitions brought by YPP and ADC against APC and Ibezim.
In his earlier prophecies on the outcome of the Imo North Senatorial contest, Primate Ayodele had given Ibezim no chance at all. He saw it as a two-horse race between Senator Ifeanyi Araraume and Chief Emmanuel Okewulonu, as only contenders for the seat, which he emphatically said belonged to Okewulonu.
He pointedly said: “Emmanuel Okewulonu has a headway than Ifeanyi Araraume. Emmanuel Okewulonu will emerge victoriously…Senator Ifeanyi Araraume will not get it. Emmanuel Okewulonu will emerge victoriously.”
However, Ibezim, the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone, who has by today’s judgment been reconfirmed by all the courts and Election Petition Tribunal, as the senator, representing Imo North.
He has since been inaugurated and doing well in the Red Chamber.