26012020 - How bad an example was set in Zamfara

PAGE 2—SUNDAY VANGUARD, JANUARY 26, 2020
From left: Chairman, Jakande Kasan Housing Estate, Lekki, Eti Osa Community
Development Association (CDA), Mr. Suleiman Kazeem, Industrial Sewing Machine
Winner in Glo Recharge and Win Big promo, Mr. Femi Salami Jimoh, and
Secretary of the CDA, Mr. Adebara Demola, at the Community Prize Presentation
ceremony held at Jakande Market, Lagos.
Imo: How Supreme Court erred in
computation of results
*Declared more votes than accredited voters
*Failed to interrogate petitioners’evidences
*Avoided mentioning figures in written judgment
By Oke Epia
Facts have emerged that
the Supreme Court
failed to do a thorough mathematical
computation of the
results of the election but relied
only on the wrong computations
submitted by Sen.
Hope Uzodinma to declare
him the duly-elected governor
of Imo State.
Our correspondents who
obtained a copy of the certified-true-copy
of the record
of the appeal filed at the Supreme
Court by Sen. Uzodunma
and the All Progressives
Congress (APC), issued
by Nwana Ejike, Registrar of
the Court of Appeal, Owerri,
emanating from record originally
compiled by Ibrahim
Garba, the Secretary of the
Election Petition Tribunal in
Owerri, there were obvious
mathematical and factual
inconsistencies which the
apex court waved aside.
It should be recalled that at
the state’s Governorship Election
Tribunal, Sen. Uzodinma
had from pages 9 to 27 of his
petition drawn up table of
votes allocation which he
claimed were the figures obtained
from the duplicate
copies of Forms EC8A handed
over to his party agents at
the 388 polling units where
he claimed results were excluded
from the overall result
of the election.
From the table he compiled,
there were 252,452 registered
voters, who gave the APC
213,695 votes and 1,903 to
Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, the
governorship candidate of
the People’s Democratic Party
(PDP).
The table did not indicate
the total number of accredited
voters, nor the number of
invalid votes and the votes
allocated to the remaining
68 candidates that contested
the election.
However, an analysis of the
duplicate Forms EC8A tendered
by PW54, Deputy Commissioner
of Police (DCP),
Rabiu Hussein, there were no
fewer than six polling units
where more votes were recorded
over the registered
voters.
For instance, on figure
number 69 which indicated
votes cast at Eziama/Okpala
(Umualum Village Square,
Eziama), the total registered
voters was 492, whereas the
table showed that the APC
scored 819 votes and PDP, 7
votes, giving a total of 334
votes more than the registered
voters, without including the
votes allegedly polled by the
other candidates at the election.
Also, at page 22 of the petition
on polling unit 282, the
registered voters was 591,
whereas the tabulation
showed that APC polled 586
votes and PDP 9 votes, with a
total of 4 votes more than the
total registered voters, not including
votes scored by the
other candidates.
Similarly, at the same page
22 of the record, polling unit
285 (Obudi/Aro, Central Assembly
Square, Unusable 11)
with 449 registered voters,
APC was credited with 780
votes and PDP with 4 votes,
providing a total of 335 votes
above the actual total registered
voters at the unit.
In addition, figures obtained
from page 79 of the
record of appeal earlier stated
and under item 384, APC
scored 526 votes, while PDP
was credited with 2 votes with
total votes cast totalling 526,
which is two votes above total
registered voters in the
area.
Both the EPT and the Appeal
Court dismissed the petition
for lacking in merit
But in a unanimous judgment
delivered on 14th January
and the 45-page written
judgment read by Justice
Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunmbo
Kekere-Ekun, the
Supreme Court upturned the
two lower courts’ decisions
and declared Sen. Uzodinma
and the All Progressives Congress
(APC) as duly-elected
governor of Imo State.
The court said that votes
from the disputed 388 polling
units were wrongly excluded
from the scores ascribed
to Sen. Uzodinma,
which was then added.
By relying on the faulty tabulation
made by Sen. Uzodinma,
the Supreme Court arrived
at a figure of 950,952
total votes cast at the election,
which is more than the total
votes cast at the election totalling
823,743. This gave
rise to 127,209 excess votes
at the election as affirmed by
the Supreme Court, which all
through avoided mentioning
figures regarding the votes
cast for the disputants or the
total registered voters and
valid and invalid votes in the
judgment.
However, in the second order
made in the judgment,
Justice Kekere-Ekun declared:
“It is hereby ordered
that the appelllants’ votes
from the 388 polling units
unlawfully excluded from the
appellants’ score shall be
added to the figure declared
by the 3rd respondent
(INEC)”.