Kalu wins at tribunal, as opponent heads to appeal
From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia
As the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Umuahia, on Tuesday, August 22, 2023, dismissed a petition challenging the election of the Deputy Speaker of the House of the Representatives, Chief Benjamin Kalu, for lacking in merit, the petitioner has described the tribunal’s decision as unfair and “not the end of the matter.”
Labour Party Candidate for Bende Federal Constituency election on February 25, 2023, Chief Frank Ifeanyi Chinasa, had approached the tribunal seeking the nullification of Kalu as the winner of election on the grounds of irregularities in his name. Chinasa contended that Rt. Hon. Kalu changed his name nine times and the name on his West African School Certificate does not match the current name his bearing.
Chinasa had prayed the court in his petition to nullify Kalu’s election, alleging that he was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission in error.
The petitioner also alleged that the Deputy Speaker, then the All Progressive Congress (APC) was not qualified to contest the election because he was the owner of certificates submitted to the Second Respondent (INEC).
Chinasa also argued that Kalu didn’t score the highest number of lawful votes in the election.
Chinasa and his party (LP) equally asked the Court to nullify and set outside the votes given to the First Respondent and withdraw the Certificate of Return given to him by INEC.
The Petitioner also told the Tribunal to declare him the winner of the election, having scored the highest number of lawful votes or nullify the entire election.
But in its Judgement, the three-man panel led by Justice Sampson Gang, ruled that it was the right of Kalu to change his name as no person or group of persons has the monopoly of any name.
The Tribunal held that Kalu equally harmonized the names in his certificates with a Deed of Proof which was published in the federal government official gazette.
The Tribunal ruled that the onus of proof rested on the Petitioner to prove that the certificates Kalu submitted to INEC did not belong to him, but he abandoned his case for Respondent to prove.
The three judges, in a unanimous judgment read by the tribunal chairman, dismissed the petition for lacking in merit without awarding damages to any of the parties.
In his reaction, the Petitioner, rejected the ruling, describing it as unfair, indicating his readiness to head to the appeal court.
“We are weighing our options with the judgement which we consider unfair. Definitely, it is not the end of the matter. We are confident that we will get better ruling at the appeal,” Chinasa said.
