During the proceedings at the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal One, held in Awka, a testimony revealed that Chief Victor Umeh of the Labor Party (LP) was not among the listed candidates who contested the election for the Anambra Central Senatorial seat on February 25, 2023.
The Returning Officer for the senatorial election, Prof Chuka Stephen Enuka, disclosed this information while being led in evidence by Prof J. O. Olatoke (SAN) one of the counsels to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Hon Dozie Nwankwo before the Tribunal today.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared Umeh the winner of the Senatorial Election held on the 25th of February, 2023.
The 3-man tribunal panel presided over by Hon Justice L. O. Ogundana heard that on the day of the election, the Returning Officer was provided with materials and documents where list of candidates participating in the Anambra Central Senatorial election without any name in the column for the Labor Party.
Prof Enuka, a major in International Relations, highlighted that he announced the result with caution, intentionally omitting a name that was absent in the documents provided to him by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the “winner.”
When taken up by Chief Patrick Ikwueto, the lead counsel to Umeh on if he generated the copy of Form EC 8 E(1) from his personal telephone handset as he stated earlier that after announcing the result he took a screenshot of the document to avoid any conspiracy thereafter, he answered in the affirmative.
Enuka also told the tribunal that when he got subpoena, he went to the INEC state headquarters to meet with the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), but unortuntely, the REC made herself incommunicado.
Later, they invited the REC, Dr. Queen Agwu, along with the original result sheet.
Importantly, she personally presented the document from the bar and the authorities did not request her to enter the witness box.
She took her leave after the panel, parties in the petition took turns to peruse the document.
The demure-looking fair skinned REC was never interrogated.
