The judgments being reeled out from the states Election Tribunals across the nation is gradually replacing the mandate of the people as expressed in the various polling units across the 37 states of the country
By Joshua Chiemerie
Since 1999 that democracy resurrected after its crucifixion by the military junta in the country, the 2023 general elections is the most controversial as evidenced in the number of cases challenging the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC’s decision at the polls in various Election Tribunals in 25 states of the Federation. The verdict at the various tribunals across the nation put a question mark on the credibility of the election conducted by INEC in the 2023 general elections.
It was gathered that in some of the tribunals, the mandate of the people stolen by politicians in connivance with INEC at the polls has been returned while in some tribunals’ verdict on the mandate of the people is supplanted by the mandate of the court no thanks to legal technicalities which gave life to the tissues of lies allegedly offered to the electorate by the electoral umpire. The decisions so far taken by the electoral tribunals shows that INEC and Department of State Service, DSS failed woefully in the due diligence required before any candidate is allowed to contest for any elective position in the country. In most cases the electoral umpire deliberately abandoned its responsibility in conducting a credible, free and fair election.
For instance, ,many of the National Assembly members have lost their seats at the tribunal because of the untidy way and manner that the electoral umpire conducted the elections which was exposed by technology used in the course of the election. Ikenga Ugochinyere’s mandate to go to the House of Representatives on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has been nullified and given to his All Progressives Congress, APC, counterpart, a decision Ugochinyere said that he was going to appeal in the Appeal Court because according to him, the judgment delivered by the tribunal does not reflect the wish of the people at the polls. “I am going to defend the mandate given to me by my people at the higher court and I am pretty sure that I will reclaim my mandate. I call on my supporters to remain calm as my lawyers have been permitted to challenge the decision of the tribunal at the higher court of competent jurisdiction”, Ugochinyere assured his teeming supporters.
In Delta State Ndudi Elumelu of PDP won in the tribunal to retain his seat at the House of Representatives but the Appeal Court reversed the decision and returned the mandate of the people to the original owner, the candidate of the Labour Party, LP in the election. In the same state, the governor elected on the platform of PDP won at the tribunal but the Appeal Court reversed the decision of the Election Tribunal in the state and returned the mandate to the candidate of LP in the election. As at the time of filing this report, the governor has headed to the Supreme Court to quash the decision of the Appeal Court.
In Ebonyi State, Senator David Umahi on the platform of APC who is currently the Minister of Works lost his mandate as a senator at the tribunal to his PDP counterpart at the polls. In Abia State, the state Election Tribunal invalidated the mandate given to three LP candidates in the state Assembly and returned it to PDP, APC and YPP candidates respectively. The LP candidates have headed to the Appeal Court to quash the decision of the tribunal. The candidates in joint press statements averred that the judgment run short of the expectation of the electorate who gave them the mandate, and vowed to reclaim their mandate at the higher court. In Enugu State Assembly LP lost its mandate in ISi-Uzo East Federal Constituency to its PDP counterpart. In Plateau State, Simon Lalong who is currently the Minister of Labour and Productivity regained his mandate won by the PDP according to INEC. However, the candidate of PDP in the polls has vowed to challenge the verdict at the Appeal Court because according to him, the judgment does not reflect the wishes of the peoples “who massively voted for me at the polls on February 25, 2023. I am going to challenge the judgment at the Appeal Court”.
In Benue State, the former governor of the State, Senator Gabriel Suswan of the PDP regained his mandate as a senator thereby invalidating the mandate given to his APC counterpart by INEC at the polls. In Kano state, the New Nigerian Peoples Party, NNPP, lost a seat at the National Assembly to its APC’s counterpart at the polls. The invalidation of the NNPP’s mandate was hinged on the fact that he forged his educational certificates; an offence the tribunal said runs foul of the constitution of the country. The gale of invalidation of electoral mandate given to politicians at the tribunal court heightened the assumption that the 2023 general election has credibility deficit.
Samson Itodo, Executive Director of YIGA Africa, a non-governmental organization that is specialized on electoral matters said that the gale of invalidation of mandate at the tribunal courts is pure evidence that the electoral umpire, DSS as well as security agencies owe Nigerians explanation as to what happened at the polls during the 2023 general elections. Some political pundits who spoke to Tentacle could not agree less with Itodo, adding that if this ugly trend of subverting the mandate of the people by the electoral umpire with the connivance of the politicians and their political parties continues, this country is headed to anarchy or something sinister.
“It is a pity that the electoral umpire in most of the cases defended the robbery they wrought on the mandate of the people willingly given at the polls. We are in for a warped democracy if we continue like this”, reasoned Anthony Uba, a lawyer and social commentator.
