The National and State House of Assembly Election Tribunal, sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State has upheld the election of Christopher Ekpenyong, striking out the petition by Godswill Akpabio.
The tribunal, ruling in a majority of two judges to one on Wednesday, held that the Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) remained valid.
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Akpabio, who is now Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, had challenged the election on the ground that Ekpenyong was not duly elected by majority of lawful votes cast and that the process that saw him elected contravened the Electoral Act.
The court dismissed all the preliminary objections filed by all the respondents in the petition.
It ruled that Akpabio’s evidence was too weak in all ramifications to prove non-compliance, which is the only ground for which nullification of the elections was sought.
The court further stated that the petitioner failed to bring any witness from the polling units and thus could not prove substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
