Uzodinma Floors Izunaso At Tribunal

The Imo State National/State Assembly election tribunal has affirmed
the election of Senator Hope Uzodinma as the validly elected senator
to represent the Imo West Senatorial district at the National
Assembly.

The three-man panel in a unanimous decision on Tuesday rejected the
petition of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Senator
Osita Izunaso, challenging the election of Uzodinma for lack of merit.

The tribunal presided over by Justice Ali Garba from Yobe State held
that the petitioner failed to prove that there were no elections in
three local government areas of the senatorial zone, namely Oru East,
Oguta, and Ohaji Egbema.

The tribunal "further held that the petitioner failed to prove that
the first respondent, Senator Uzodinma, did not score the majority of
the lawful votes cast in the election and that the petitioner also
failed to prove that he, Izunaso scored the majority of the lawful
votes cast in the said election."

It would be recalled that the petition by the APC candidate was
earlier dismissed by a similar tribunal headed by justice A .Y Sanya,
which ruled that the petitioner, Izunaso abandoned his petition by
failing to pay the appropriate filing fees for the pre-hearing of the
matter.

The tribunal ruled then that for failing to pay the required filling
fees, the petitioner (Izunaso) had dumped his petition.

But senator Izunaso in his wisdom appealed the ruling and the Appeal
court ruled that the case should be heard on merit.

-NationalMirror