Labour Party candidate, Hon Amobi Oga, has rejected the ruling of the national assembly tribunal after they nullified his elections and declared the present Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkiruka Onyejiocha as the winner of the Isiukwuato/ Umunneochi federal constituency polls.
TORI reports that in a statement signed and made available to journalists, the Labour Party lawmaker, who became a sensation online for praising President Bola Tinubu’s intelligence, appealed to his constituents to be calm, insisting their choice will not be tampered with.
Ogah also rejected the judgement which overturned his victory at the 2023 National Assembly polls, stressing he will appeal the verdict as soon as he concludes with his legal team.
He further expressed confidence that the desperation and mischievous attempt to scuttle the people’s will would be upturned at the appeal court.
He said, “My opponent, whom I know, did not win the election, and the judge cannot announce a result presented by the petitioner as concrete against the result presented by INEC.
“With the benefit of hindsight, this bizarre outcome is not totally strange as we had seen tendencies of clear compromise by the panel who discarded all known principles governing election adjudication and enunciated their own principles.
“Indeed, manifestation of it was writ large at the adoption of final addresses wherein the current Attorney General of the Federation- Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, made comments suggesting underhand dealings with the Chairman of the Panel.
“I want to use this medium to call on my constituents who voted for me, knowing my capacity to deliver dividends of democracy to them, to be calm and abiding as I appeal the judgment delivered by the tribunal.
“For the records, I scored a total of 11,769 votes against my opponent whom the commission said scored a total of 8,752 votes. It is very bizarre that despite calling a lone witness and dumping several strange result sheets before the Tribunal, the members of the panel recognized the same and disregarded original copies of the result sheets produced from proper custody.
“Let me be clear that I am rejecting the tribunal’s ruling and will appeal the obvious miscarriage of justice, fairness and objectivity.
“The will and wish of the people that came out en masse to vote me in is not in doubt, hence my prompting to challenge the judgement.
“One wonders why a minister already serving after a woeful defeat at the Feb, 25th National Assembly poll could still be making frantic efforts to unseat the popular wish of the people in the electoral victory of the Labour Party and its candidate.
“I am however confident that her desperation and mischievous attempt to scuttle the will of the people would be upturned by the justices of the appellate court.”
