The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal for Ebonyi State, located in Abuja, made a significant decision on Wednesday. The tribunal dismissed a petition filed by the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and its governorship candidate, Prof. Benard Odoh, challenging the election victory of Francis Nwifuru as the governor of Ebonyi State.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had previously declared Francis Nwifuru, representing the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the March 2023 governorship election in Ebonyi State.
In response to this outcome, Prof. Benard Odoh sought legal intervention to challenge the election results, primarily based on the grounds of Nwifuru’s alleged non-qualification. Odoh, represented by his legal counsel, Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, argued that Nwifuru, who had been a member of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly both before and after the election, and had also held the position of Speaker in the house under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was not eligible to contest for the governorship of Ebonyi State.
Consequently, APGA and Odoh urged the Tribunal to invalidate Mr. Nwifuru’s victory, citing his alleged lack of qualification for the election.
However, when delivering the judgment on the petition, the three-member panel, led by Justice Lekan Ogunmoye, ruled that the petitioners did not have the legal standing (locus standi) to file the action because the issue raised was deemed to be an internal matter within the APC.
Further details on this ruling will be made available at a later time.