Imo North bye-election: INEC declares APC winner, returns no candidate
- There was confusion on Sunday, December 6, in Imo as the bye-election in the northern senatorial district
- This came after INEC declared APC as the winner of the election but named no candidate between Ifeanyi Ararume and Chukwuma Francis Ibezim
- INEC explained that this is because of the several court cases that surround the claim to the party's ticket in the district
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Although the Independent National Electoral Commission on Sunday, December 6, declared that the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the bye-election in the Imo North senatorial district, it named no candidate as the victor.
Both Ifeanyi Araraume and Chukwuma Francis Ibezim, are laying claims to the APC ticket in the senatorial district a tussle that has led to several court cases.
From the declaration of INEC's returning officer, Hakeem Adikum, the APC won the election by polling 36, 811 votes, while Emmanuel Okewulonu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) came behind by scoring 31, 903 votes, Punch reports.
Adikum added that the APC claimed five out of the six local government areas in the senatorial district while PDP won only one area.
Source: UGC
He stated:
“I hereby return the All Progressives Congress as the winner of the bye-election held in Imo North on Saturday, December 5.”
The returning officer pointed out that the commission was unable to declare either Araraume Ibezim as the actual winner due to many court orders for and against them.
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Meanwhile, Ararume had been disqualified from participating in the December 5 Imo North senatorial election by an appeal court sitting in Owerri.
The court in a ruling delivered on Friday, December 4, by the five-man panel headed by Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam noted that the November 6 judgment of the Federal High Court in Owerri declaring Ararume as the APC candidate has no jurisdiction under law to entertain the matter.
Consequently, INEC was ordered by the court to immediately replace Ararume’s name with Ibezim as the authentic candidate of the APC.
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Source: Legit.ng
