Election tribunal sacks another Labour Party lawmaker in Enugu

Tamarauemi Ebimini

The National and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in Enugu, on Wednesday, nullified the election of Bright Ngene of the Labour Party as the House of Assembly member representing Enugu South Urban Constituency.

Sam Ngene, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the 18 March poll, had challenged the election of Mr Ngene.

Mr Ngene, a former one-term lawmaker in the House, had argued in his petition that the number of cancelled votes was more than the number of votes credited to the LP candidate.

He further contended that the election ought to have been declared inconclusive and a re-run held to determine the actual winner.

Delivering judgment, a three-person panel headed by A. M. Abubakar ordered a rerun election in the constituency within 90 days to determine the actual winner of the election.

The tribunal explained that the judgment was based on the grounds that the number of votes credited to Mr Ngene, the winner of the election, was fewer than the number of disenfranchised voters in the constituency.

It held that the Independent National Electoral Commission was wrong to have declared Mr Ngene as the winner of the election.

It further ruled that the electoral commission ought to have declared the election inconclusive and gone for a re-run at polling units where it could not conduct the election.

The sacking of the LP lawmaker came about 24 hours after a federal lawmaker from the party, Sunday Umeha, representing Udi/Ezeagu Federal Constituency of Enugu State, was sacked by the election tribunal.