The candidate of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) in the March 19, 2023 gubernatorial election in Enugu State, Chris Agu, has urged the Justice M.K. Akano-led Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Enugu, to declare him winner, claiming that he scored the highest number of votes in the election.
Agu who spoke through his lawyer Alex Amuchiogu, on Wednesday, when all the parties adopted their final written addresses, faulted the declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Peter Mbah, as winner of the election.
The PRP governorship candidate argued that both INEC and PDP failed to produce a single polling unit result sheet before the tribunal to show how governor Mbah emerged winner of the election.
He said that under the extant law, the burden of proof of a disputed election has shifted from the petitioner to the respondent, claiming that PDP came second in that election while PRP secured the first position.
However, counsel to PDP, Tony Mba, SAN, had earlier told the tribunal that the PRP candidate called only three witnesses for an election conducted in 17 local government areas of the state, arguing that the three witnesses could not have known what happened during the election in all the local government areas.
Besides, he argued that the PRP candidate failed to produce a single result sheet to show how he won the election, an argument also canvassed by counsels to INEC and the PDP candidate
“My Lords, this is the most unmeritorious petition I have ever seen,” said counsel to PDP, and urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition.
Justice Akano, informed all the parties in the case that the court would communicate them on the day judgment will be delivered.
