The National Assembly election petitions tribunal sitting in Enugu, Wednesday, upheld the election of Senator Kelvin Chukwu of the Labour Party in a suit filed by erstwhile governor of the state, Senator Chimaroke Nnamani.
Chukwu represents Enugu East senatorial district, which Nnamani had represented in the Senate for two tenures.
Nnamani contested on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He had alleged irregularities and non-compliance with the Electoral Law against Chukwu.
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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Chukwu the winner with over 69,000 votes as against Nnamani’s 49,000 votes.
Delivering its ruling on Wednesday, the tribunal upheld Senator Chukwu’s victory. It also awarded a cost of N500,000 against the petitioners in favour of the three respondents, Kelvin Chukwu, Labour Party and INEC.
The three-man panel led by Justice Nusirat I. Umar unanimously dismissed the petition for being vague, lacking in merit, incompetent, generic and academic exercise.
Recall that Senator Chukwu emerged the senatorial candidate of LP after the killing of his elder brother, Barr Oyibo Chukwu, who was then the candidate of LP. The deceased was shot and burnt alongside his aide some days before the conduct of the polls.