The House of Representatives Election Petition Tribunal has annulled the election of Simon Atigwe, the member representing Igboeze North/Udenu federal constituency, declaring Dennis Agbo of the Labour Party as the rightful winner.
Atigwe, a candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was initially declared the winner of the re-run election held on February 3rd, 2024, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to INEC, Atigwe secured 23,863 votes, surpassing Dennis Agbo of the Labour Party, who garnered 23,226 votes.
However, Agbo, who had previously won the February 25th, 2023 election before being unseated by the appellate court, challenged Atigwe’s victory at the tribunal.
Agbo’s petition alleged significant irregularities, including incorrect vote tallying and substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act.
In a ruling delivered on Wednesday, the Tribunal, led by Justice H. N. Kunaza found merit in Agbo’s petition.
The tribunal declared that the addition of 2,000 votes to Atigwe’s tally was invalid, nullifying the results that favored the PDP candidate.
The Tribunal restored the original results from the February 25th, 2023 election, which showed Agbo leading with 28,870 votes against Atigwe’s 14,229 votes.
Consequently, the tribunal ruled that Simon Atigwe was not duly elected by valid votes and that the certificate of return issued to him should be withdrawn.
The court ordered that the certificate be issued to Dennis Agbo, affirming him as the duly elected representative of Igboeze North/Udenu federal constituency.
The Sun