Imo guber: Araraume drags Ihedioha, PDP to tribunal

The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship candidate for Imo State in the last governorship election, Senator Ifeanyi Godwin Araraume, has asked the Imo State Election Petition Tribunal to nullify and set aside the Imo State governorship election held on March 9, 2019, citing non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010, and the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as reason.

He also asked for an order voiding the Certificate of Return issued to Hon. Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as the governor-elect in the election.

The suit also has the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the PDP as respondents.

In his petition no: IM/EPT/GOV/03/2019 dated March 29, 2019, and filed on his behalf by Ahmed Raji, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), K.C Nwufo (SAN), I. K Bawa (SAN) and others, the petitioner also asked for an order directing the INEC to conduct a fresh gubernatorial election in Imo State, in compliance with the provisions of the 1999 constitution and the Electoral Act.

The petitioner averred that all the scores and purported votes from Aboh Mbaise, Ahiazu Mbaise, Ehime Mbano and other 17 local government areas of the states, were void and unlawful votes.

Giving facts in support of his demand to void the election in the stated local government areas, Araraume said that INEC, in preparation for the election, sourced electoral officers from the University of Agriculture, Umudike; that the said electoral officers were “inexplicably” changed hours to the election and replaced with a different set of untrained electoral officers and ad-hoc staff.

He further averred that the new, untrained electoral officers and ad-hoc staff, most of who hail from Mbaise Local Government Area, were appointed and deployed within hours to the commencement of the governorship election, stating that these untrained electoral staff did not subscribe to the oath of neutrality