NASS poll: LP Omoruyi Osaro declared victor of Egor/Ikpoba-Okha Federal Constituency election
The Labour Party’s Omoruyi Osaro was declared the victor of the Egor/Ikpoba-Okha Federal Constituency election in Edo on February 25, 2023, by the National/State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal in Benin, the state capital.
The Peoples Democratic Party’s Okhuarobo Osuede and the All Progressives Congress’ Hon. Crosby Eribo both filed petitions disputing Osaro’s eligibility and the results of the National Assembly election, but the court dismissed both of them.
The court dismissed the petitions with the file numbers EPT/ED/HR/06/2023 and EPT/ED/HR/08/2023 for lack of merits in a unanimous decision by the three-member tribunal panel chaired by Justice O. A. Chijioke.
The tribunal determined that the two petitioners were unable to support their claims of electoral law violations, fraudulent behavior, and non-qualification of the LP candidate in the election.
Justice O.A. Chijioke, who delivered the unanimous rulings, stated that the petition was dismissed for lack of merit because the petitioners had not proven their claims.
The applications are hereby dismissed for lack of merit because, according to the tribunal, “We hold that the petitioners failed to substantiate any of the grounds presented in the petitions.”
Osamuede and Eribo, the petitioners, addressed the tribunal with their individual petitions to dispute Osaro’s election on the grounds that Osaro was unable to run for office.
The Electoral Act of 2022, as amended, and Section 66 of the Nigerian Constitution were both violated by Eribo’s allegations that the LP candidate was a citizen of the United States of America.
He further argued that Osaro was not legitimately the Labour Party’s candidate for the election, which Eribo felt implied that the LP did not have a candidate.
However, the electoral panel, which was led by Justice Chijioke, found that all of the charges against Okhuarobo and Eribo were unfounded and asserted that the petitioners had done nothing more than toss useless documents at the tribunal.
