Labour Party Triumphs as Tribunal Sacks PDP’s Enugu Representative

Bye-Election Petition Tribunal in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, has removed Simon Atigwe of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from his position as the House of Representatives member representing Igboeze North/Udenu Federal Constituency of Enugu State. The tribunal, consisting of three members and led by Justice H. N. Kunaza, declared Labour Party’s Dennis Agbo the rightful winner of the February 3, 2024, rerun election.

Initially, Agbo secured the seat during the 2023 general election, but his victory was annulled by the Court of Appeal, prompting a rerun in approximately ten polling units. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Atigwe the winner of the rerun after he garnered 23,863 votes, narrowly surpassing Agbo’s 23,226 votes.

Agbo, dissatisfied with the result, challenged the outcome at the tribunal, citing wrong computation of results and significant non-compliance with the Electoral Act. The tribunal ruled in his favor, nullifying the 2,000 votes added to Atigwe’s total and restoring the original results from February 25, 2023, which showed Agbo with 28,870 votes and Atigwe with 14,229 votes.

The tribunal concluded that Atigwe was not duly elected by the valid votes cast and ordered that the certificate of return issued to him be withdrawn and given to Dennis Agbo instead.

This decision is a significant victory for the Labour Party and a notable shift in the political landscape of Enugu State.