The election of Lewis Chinaemerem Obianyi to represent Ukwa East State constituency in the Abia State House of Assembly has been validated by the Election Petition Tribunal, which is seated in Umuahia, Abia State.
In its decision, the tribunal denied the petition that Labour Party, LP candidate Mr. Ekeke Adiele had filed contesting Obianyi’s election.
The three-person panel led by Hon. Justice Aderibigbe rendered a unanimous decision on Wednesday, ruling that petitioner Ekeke had not produced sufficient evidence to support his claim that there had been significant “Non Compliance” with electoral regulations during the election.
The tribunal also decided that Mr. Okeke Adiele, the initial petitioner, lacked the standing to challenge the election results since he was not Mr. Adiele Ekeke, the person who ran for office.
The tribunal further stated that the appeal was denied for lack of merit since the petitioner had not met the standard of proof for “non compliance.”
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Lead attorney for Obianyi, Chidozie Ogunji, praised the tribunal’s ruling in response to the verdict, claiming that justice had been served in this case.
Obianyi responded by expressing happiness that the mandate he had won by voting was upheld.
In 2023, Mr. Adiele Ekeke, a Commissioner at the Abia State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (ASOPADEC), ran under the same name in the primary election for the Abia State House Assembly in the Ukwa-East State constituency of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). However, he filed his petition under the name Mr. Okeke Adiele.
