The Rivers State Elections Petition Tribunal for National and State
Assembly sitting in Abuja Yesterday declared Chief Andrew Uchendu of the
APC as duly elected Senator for Rivers East.
In declaring Chief Uchendu Senator-elect, the Tribunal held that the 1st
Respondent (INEC) cannot pick and choose which results to accept in an
election that held on the same day. Recall that the electoral agency had
declared Hon Chidi Wihioka and Hon Byke Wanjoku of the APC as duly elected
and returned for Ikwerre/Emohua Federal Constituency and Ikwerre State
Constituency respectively but failed to declare the results of the
Senatorial election which held simultaneously.
The Tribunal wondered why INEC failed to collate the results of the areas
mentioned above, especially in Ikwerre and Emuoha LGAs, when it has
accepted and collated the results of the House of Representatives election
conducted on the same date and time by the same INEC officials in the
area.
The Tribunal accepted the responsibility of collating the results of the
areas so ignored by INEC and arrived at the total score of 126,160 for
Uchendu and APC and 84,000 for Sekibo and PDP.
Tribunal nullified the declaration of Sekibo and ordered INEC to withdraw
the certificate of return issued to him.
Tribunal declared Uchendu winner of the Election having scored the highest
number of lawful votes cast and ordered INEC to immediately issue him the
certificate of returns.
With this verdict which evolved essentially from the addition by the
Tribunal of the undeclared results in the aforementioned areas having been
satisfied that the Petitioner has proved his case from the credible
evidence led by Petitioner’s witnesses, INEC would now issue Chief
Uchendu, a former General Manager of the State-owned RISONPALM and
three-term member of the House of Representatives, a Certificate of Return
as duly elected Senator per the Order of the Tribunal. The Tribunal also
ordered INEC to immediately withdraw the Certificate it previously issued
George Thompson Sekibo of the PDP.
It will be recalled that Governor Nyesom Wike had led other PDP Members to
the Rivers East Senatorial District Collation Centre and forced the INEC
returning officer to declare the Results without the one from Emohua LOcal
Government Area.
Declaring the results at the collation centre, the Returning Officer for
Rivers East, Prof. Orji Okumenkama, said Sekibo scored 93,098 votes to
defeat the candidate of the APC, Chief Andrew Uchendu, who scored 34,193
votes.