Senator representing Abia-North Senatorial Zone, Orji Uzor Kalu on Tuesday escaped the hammer of the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Umuahia, by affirming his victory in the February 25, 2023 polls.
Leading the three-member panel, Justice Samson Paul-Gang, in a unanimous ruling on Tuesday, dismissed the petitions of Peoples Democratic Party’s Mao Ohuabunwa and his counterpart from the Labour Party, Nnamdi Iro Orji for lacking merit.
In upholding the victory of Kalu, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the election, the court ruled that the election of the former Senate Chief Whip complied with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
The panel also refuted the arguments of both petitioners claiming that the election did not take place in over 120 polling units, particularly in Ohafia and Arochukwu Local Government Areas of the zone.
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Nnamdi Iro and Ohuabunwa, who came in second and third place respectively, from the Labour Party, in separate cases, had asked the court to overturn the election of the former Abia Governor, as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), citing irregularities.
Also dismissed was the petition of the PDP and LP, which argued that the total number of registered voters in the affected polling units far exceeded the margin of victory between Kalu and the first and second runners-up.
The court also affirmed Kalu’s eligibility to contest the election, stating that his trial and conviction were nullified by the supreme court.
Two other cases filed by the LP challenging Kalu’s election were also addressed and settled by the Tribunal judges, thus confirming Kalu as the duly elected Senator of Abia North.
Kalu, a prominent member of the APC, was declared the winner by the INEC Returning Officer for Abia North, Mr. Chinedu Nnamdi, in Ohafia.
Kalu, a two-time lawmaker who currently chairs the Senate committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation, was declared the winner by INEC in the February 25, 2023 Senatorial polls, having garnered 30,805 votes to defeat Nnamdi who received 27,540 votes.
Meanwhile, Kalu’s other opponent, Ohuabunwa of the PDP, secured 15,175 votes to come in third place.
