The House of Representatives Tribunal has nullified the election of Simon Atigwe, the member representing Igboeze North/Udenu federal constituency.
The tribunal declared Dennis Nnamdi Agbo of the Labour Party (LP) the rightful winner of the Igbo Eze North/Udenu Federal constituency rerun election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had previously declared Atigwe of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) the winner of the rerun election held on February 3, 2024, with 23,863 votes.
However, Agbo, who had won the initial election on February 25, 2023, but was removed by the appellate court, challenged the result at the tribunal.
Agbo’s legal team argued that the rerun election was marred by incorrect computation of results and significant non-compliance with the electoral act.
The tribunal, headed by Justice H. N. Kunaza, found merit in the petition and declared Agbo the actual winner.
The tribunal’s ruling on August 14, 2024, invalidated 2,000 votes added to the PDP candidate’s total and restored the original votes from February 25, 2023, giving Agbo 28,870 votes and Atigwe 14,229 votes.
The tribunal concluded that Atigwe was not duly elected and ordered the withdrawal of his certificate of return in favor of Agbo.
