Finally, Supreme Court Affirms Mbah as Enugu State Governor
The Supreme Court, on Friday, unanimously affirmed the election of Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, dismissing an appeal by the Labour Party (LP) and its candidate, Chijioke Edeoga, Excel Magazine International can report.
The court upheld the concurrent decisions of the Enugu State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal and the Court of Appeal in Lagos, stating that the allegations against Governor Mbah lacked merit.
The Court of Appeal in Lagos had earlier upheld Mbah’s victory, dismissing claims of his disqualification and over-voting in his strongholds.
The appellate court highlighted the failure of the LP and Edeoga to substantiate their allegations and refused to set aside the Tribunal’s verdict.
In November, the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal dismissed the LP’s three raised issues, emphasizing that Edeoga failed to prove Mbah’s disqualification and did not provide evidence for the alleged over-voting.
Following the dissatisfaction with the appellate court’s decision, Edeoga pursued the matter before the Supreme Court, where his appeal was also dismissed on Friday.
Recall that INEC declared Mbah the winner with 160,895 votes, while Edeoga secured 157,552 votes.
The LP challenged the results, asserting they polled the highest valid votes. Allegations included Mbah’s alleged ineligibility and submission of a forged NYSC certificate.
On September 9, the Election Petitions Tribunal led by Justice K.M. Akano rejected the forgery claim, emphasizing that Mbah met the election requirements and that criminal allegations required proof beyond reasonable doubt. The tribunal also disregarded certain witnesses’ testimony due to procedural irregularities.
Governor Mbah’s victory has been reaffirmed by the Supreme Court, concluding the legal challenges to the Enugu State governorship election.
