Ebonyi Bye-Election: PDP’s Candidate Drags Senator Ani to Court

The candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP in the recently conducted Ebonyi South Senatorial bye-election, Silas Onu has taken the All Progressive Congress APC Candidate, Senator Anthony Ani to court,  seeking his disqualification on grounds of certificate forgery and ineligibility to stand for the poll.

This prompted the National Assembly to declare the seat vacant, for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to conduct a bye-election on February 3, 2024 to fill the vacant seat.

Nigeria’s electoral umpire, INEC, conducted a bye-election on February 3, 2024 to fill the vacant seat. The Commission declared and returned Mr Ani as winner of the election with 46, 270 votes, issued him a Certificate of Return as the Senator-elect and  thereafter, he was sworn in as Senator.

Inability to resign

The PDP candidate, Onu rejected the outcome of the election and vowed to challenge it at the tribunal. In a petition,  Onu urged the tribunal to disqualify Ani on grounds of forgery and inability to resign his position as a lecturer at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, FUTO, before the election as required for public servants.

 In a petition to the tribunal, Mr Onu is also contended that the declaration of Mr Ani as winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC is as invalid as it is not in line stipulations of the Electoral Act.

Mr Onu is the first petitioner and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is the second petitioner, while INEC, Mr Ani and his party, the APC are the first, second and third respondents respectively.

Onu in the petition, urged the tribunal to disqualify Ani on grounds of forgery and inability to resign his position as a public servant before the said election.

He alleged that Mr Ani who is the second respondent presented forged brith certificate to the  first respondent, INEC contrary to section 66 of the Constitution.

Receive salaries

According to him, while Mr Ani in documents submitted to INEC claimed to have resigned on 20th December, 2023, he however, continued to receive salaries after the said date of resignation.

The petitioners said: “the requirement for public servants who wish to contest election into the Nigerian Senate to resign in-line with section 6 (1)(f) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) is sacrosanct and cannot be waived or ignored.”

Mr Onu and his party are also urging the Tribunal to declare the election as conducted in Afikpo Local Government Area invalid due to over voting

They alleged that facts before them show that INEC failed to comply with the electoral act which prescribed cancellation of election results in polling units where number of votes exceeded number of accredited voters in the local government area.

They prayed for an order upholding the results from Afikpo South, Ivo, Ohaozara and Onicha Local Government Areas as the lawful valid votes for the election.

According to them, “it may be determined that the 2nd Respondent was at the time of the election not qualified to contest the election and that the return of the 2nd Respondents by the 1st Respondent is wrongful, unlawful, undue, null and void having not satisfied the requirements of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) which mandatorily requires the 2nd Respondent to resign before contesting the election.”

“That it may be determined that all votes cast for the 2nd and 3rd Respondents are wasted votes and therefore the declaration and return of the 2nd Respondent by the 1s Respondent as the winner of the Ebonyi South Senatorial Bye-Election conducted on Saturday 3rd February, 2024 is unlawful, wrongful, unconstitutional, undue, null and void and of no effect whatsoever,” they insisted.

 Mr Onu is also praying the court to declare him as winner of the said election having secured majority of the lawful votes cast.

APC’s candidate, Mr Anthony Ani garnered a total of 46, 270 votes and was thereafter declared and returned Ani as winner of the election, while the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Ifeanyi Eleje and Mr Silas Onu of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, were the first and second runner-up respectively.

It will be recalled that former Governor David Umahi who won the 2023 election to represent the zone resigned his position as senator upon his appointment as Minister by President Bola Tinubu.

This prompted the National Assembly to declare the seat vacant, for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to conduct a bye-election on February 3, 2024 to fill the vacant seat.

Lateefah Ibrahim