By Daniel Edu
The National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal in Enugu has issued its verdict, rejecting Senator Chimaroke Nnamani’s petition challenging the election of Senator Kelvin Chukwu from the Labour Party. Senator Chukwu represents the Enugu East Senatorial District in the National Assembly.
Senator Chukwu became the Labour Party candidate after the tragic passing of his elder brother, Barrister Oyibo Chukwu, who was initially nominated by the party. In contrast, Senator Nnamani ran for the election under the banner of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and raised allegations of irregularities and electoral law violations against Senator Chukwu.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Senator Chukwu the winner with over 69,000 votes, while Senator Nnamani received approximately 49,000 votes.
In its ruling, the tribunal upheld Senator Chukwu’s victory and imposed a fine of N500,000 on Senator Nnamani and the PDP. This fine is to be paid to the three respondents, which include Senator Kelvin Chukwu, the Labour Party, and INEC.
The tribunal panel, consisting of three members led by Justice Nusirat I. Umar, came to a unanimous decision to dismiss Senator Nnamani’s petition. The tribunal found the petition lacking in specificity, merit, legal validity, and deemed it more of an academic exercise than a legitimate challenge to the election results.
