Election Tribunal: LP Governorship Candidate Dismayed By The Dismissal Of Imasuen Petition

By The  Editor 

A notable governorship aspirant of Labour Party (LP) in Edo State, Comrade Curtis Eghosa Ugbo, has condemned the dismissal of the petition of the party’s candidate for Orhionmwon/Uhunmwode federal constituency, Hon. Murphy Imasuen, by the election petitions tribunal sitting in Benin, Edo State on two grounds.

The tribunal had reportedly ruled that Imasuen was not the candidate of Labour party, and has no locus to bring the case before it and that he has no sufficient evidence to prove electoral malpractices.

In a statement issued by the LP governorship aspirant  in Edo, Curtis Eghosa Ugbo, reacting to the dismissal of Imasuen’s petition by the tribunal, said: “The question people are asking is who was the candidate of LP?Is the tribunal saying that LP did not have a candidate for the election? Murphy Imasuen won the LP primaries and his name was submitted to INEC as the candidate. The then national chairman Julius Odianosen Abure in conspiracy with others illegally substituted his name with another person. Murphy Imasuen went to court to challenge his unlawful substitution. The federal High Court on the 20th of February,2023 gave judgment and affirmed Murphy Imasuen as the candidate of the party. The election was held on the 25th of February,2023.Murphy Imasuen was confirmed as the candidate of LP before the national Assembly election”.

“The then national chairman, Julius Odianosen Abure of LP and the candidate he used to substitute Murphy Imasuen appealed against the judgment of the Federal high court. The court of Appeal upheld the decision of the federal High Court and affirmed Murphy Imasuen as the candidate of the party. They further appealed to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court affirmed Murphy Imasuen as the candidate of LP. The Supreme Court had affirmed that the issue of the nomination of party candidate is a pre – election matter. The question of who is the candidate of LP for the election had been settled in the pre- election matter and the Supreme Court affirmed Murphy Imasuen as the candidate of the LP).Why was the case raised and entertained by the tribunal? By the judgment of the tribunal that Murphy Imasuen was never a candidate or was not the candidate of the LP, does it not amount to a review or a dismissal of the judgment of the Supreme Court  which has affirmed Murphy Imasuen as the candidate of LP?

Continuing, he said: “It is my opinion that this kind of judgment can only come from corrupt minds. The election petitions tribunal do not have the locus to re- open a matter that has been decided by the court of Appeal and the supreme court. It is sad and unfortunate that Nigeria Judiciary can degenerate to this level. Their second ground for the dismissal of the petition is that Murphy Imasuen has no sufficient evidence to prove electoral malpractices and that he ought to have called party agents from the polling units to prove the results. Murphy Imasuen did not dispute INEC  results of the election. Murphy Imasuen was only asking for the correct computation ,or to correct the arithmetic error in the addition of the results from one(1) ward out of the 10 wards of the LGA.2414 votes of LP was excluded from the collation of the results. The results Murphy Imasuen was asking to be calculated were before the tribunal certified and presented by INEC. The collation officer in a written report admitted that he didn’t add the 2414 votes of LP because the thugs of the APC were threatening his life. The report was certified by INEC and presented to the tribunal.”

“People are wondering the kind of evidence the tribunal was looking for to ascertain whether there was computation error from the results that were before the tribunal. Both Murphy Imasuen and INEC presented the same results. Agents/witnesses from the polling units would have been relevant if Murphy Imasuen and INEC presented conflicting results. It was obviously a sad day for democracy and a complete affront on the rule of law and justice in Nigeria”.

Meanwhile The Last Is Yet To Head O f The Case As The Candidate Of Labour Party Murphy Imasuen Is Likely To Head To The Appeal Court