The National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal One, sitting in Awka this afternoon heard that the name of Chief Victor Umeh of the Labor Party(LP) was not listed as a candidate among those that contested election for the Anambra Central Senatorial seat on FEB 25,2023.
This was disclosed by the Returning Officer for the senatorial election, Prof Chuka Stephen Enuka while being led in evidence by Prof J. O. Olatoke (SAN) one of the counsels to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Hon Dozie “Onyendozi” Nwankwo before the Tribunal today.
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 pointed out that he was careful enough while announcing the result to leave out a name just as it was vacant in the documents handed over to him by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as “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 said yes.
Enuka also told the tribunal that when he got supoena he went to the INEC state headquarters to meet with the Resident Electoral Commissioner(REC). But that sadly “she made herself incommunicado”.
Later the REC, Dr Queen Agwu was invited with the original result sheet. Instructively she tendered the document from the bar, and was never asked 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.
