APA joins Ihedioha, drags Okorocha to election tribunal

Imo State’s Governor Rochas Okorocha of the APC will have to defend his victory at the 2015 governorship election from another front, as another political party in the state has also dragged him before the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.

Candidate of African People’s Alliance, APA, Mr. Charles Osita Nnadi has approached the tribunal with a petition, EPT/IM/GOV/2/2015, claiming among others, that the total number of votes cast in most polling units in the state outnumbered the total number of registered voters, as well as the total number of eligible voters, who collected their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) and the total number of accredited voters.

The petitioner also averred that the election was invalid as a result of corrupt practices and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

This is yet another petition of about three that had been filed against Okorocha’s victory. It would be recalled that deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, who was the PDP candidate in that same election, Emeka Ihedioha had also approached the tribunal to declare him the winner of that exercise, or in the alternative cancel the results and call for another election.

And according to Nnadi, the governorship election of April 11, 2015, and the supplementary election of April 25, 2015, were marred and vitiated by substantial non-compliance with statutory requirements, irregularities, corrupt practices, fraud, illegal voting and mutilation of election result sheets that substantially affected him and his party.

He said none of the candidates was entitled to be declared winner of the election, and that the exercise should have been nullified.

The petitioner also accused the governor and his agents of indulging in illegal buying and selling of PVCs, through which they allegedly induced and procured illegal and unlawful votes across the state, contrary to the provisions of the Electoral Act.

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