VICTORY AT LAST AS TRIBUNAL DECLARES NDUDI ELUMELU WINNER

By Amina Yahaya Okeke

The victory of every contest is established by the celebration of the people, just as in every electoral contest, there are rules and regulations which make it impossible to cut corners where they are followed.

As the 2023 election was held, the electorate played their role, INEC conducted the process and declared a winner, but today the Tribunal according to law has declared the actual winner in terms of process, law and people’s choice.

The National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Asaba has nullified the election of Mr. Ngozi Okolie of the Labour Party (LP) through the petition filed by the former House Minority Leader, Ndudi ELUMELU, on the ground that the LP candidate was not properly sponsored by the Labour Party.

The unanimous judgement of the three-member panel, headed by Justice A. Z. Mussa, showed that it was an overwhelming victory that cannot be overturn by any appeal.

On arrival in his Constituency, Rt. Hon. Ndudi Elumelu was greeted by a large crowd of Aniocha/Oshimili people who came to welcome him from Asaba and celebrate the victory of the people.

The celebration that trailed the nullification of the LP candidate’s election and the declaration of PDP’s Ndudi Elumelu as winner at the Tribunal Hall and the jubilation that followed in Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency, leave one wondering who were the people that voted the LP candidate initially.

Rt. Hon. Ndudi Godwin Elumelu OON, Member-Elect House of Representative for the Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency, is a man with a pact with destiny. 

He represented his people well with lots of dividend of democracy and national policies to show, and by his declaration as the winner of the February 25 House of Representatives election by the Tribunal, the good people of the Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency have spoken and destiny has also beckoned.

As a man who believes in God and builds his life around the principles of the scripture and promises of God, Elumelu took his victory to the church in Thanksgiving in appreciation for what God had done for him and the good people of Aniocha/Oshimili.

This facts and outcome of the case at hand only buttress the point that electoral contest is a process that requires meticulous planning with strict adherence to the law guiding the electoral process.

Amina Yahaya Okeke is of the Coalition For True Democracy, Abuja.