Okorocha Goes To Senate As Court Orders INEC To Issue Him Certificate Of Return
Victory has come the way of former Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha as an Abuja Division of the Federal High Court has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue him a certificate of return as senator-elect.
The electoral commission had declined giving the senatorial aspirant a certificate of return claiming that its returning officer for Imo West senatorial district in the February 23rd election had declared him winner of the election under duress.
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The former governor in reaction, had approached the court to challenge the decision of the electoral body.
The Court, in its ruling by Justice Okon Abang said INEC’s resolution to deprive Okorocha of the certificate was a “lawless decision.”
Abang specifically said any person declared a winner by the returning officer remains a winner until petitioners succeed in upturning the declaration at the election tribunal.
The judge held, “Once the declaration is made under section 68(c) of the Electoral Act, INEC has become functus officio and INEC has no lawful authority to withhold the certificate of return for any reason whatsoever.
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“Therefore the issue of duress is unknown to both the Electoral Act and the Constitution.
“INEC shall forthwith publish and circulate the name of the plaintiff as the senator-elect representing Orlu Imo West Senatorial District.
“It is hereby ordered that INEC shall forthwith issue a certificate of return as the senator-elect representing senator-elect representing Orlu Imo West Senatorial District.”
The defendants were also ordered to pay a total of N900,000 cost to Okorocha.
THE WHISTLER placed a phone call to INEC’s Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, to speak on the incident. Okoye said he has heard the news but could not say anything because he was outside Abuja.
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“Yes, there is something like that but I cannot say anything now because I am in Kaduna. I just came out of a conference I will call you soon,” he said.
