Ebonyi South: PDP candidate drags Senator Ani to tribunal over alleged certificate forgery

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the just concluded Ebonyi South Senatorial bye-election, Barrister Silas Onu, has dragged the All Progressives Congress, APC, flagbearer, Senator Anthony Ani, to court seeking his disqualification on the grounds of certificate forgery and ineligibility to stand for the poll.

Onu, in the petition, is also contending that the declaration of Ani as winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is invalid by reasons of non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

The candidate is the first petitioner while his party, PDP is the second petitioner.

INEC, Ani and his party, APC, are the first, second and third respondents, respectively.

Former Governor David Umahi, who won the 2023 election to represent the zone, resigned his position as a senator upon his appointment as minister by President Bola Tinubu.

This prompted the National Assembly to declare the seat vacant and INEC conducted a bye-election on February 3, 2024 to fill the vacant seat.

The Commission thereafter declared and returned Ani as winner of the election with 46,270 votes.

The Commission declared Anthony Eleje candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, as the first runner-up, while Onu was declared as the second runner-up.

INEC then proceeded to issue Ani a Certificate of Return as the Senator-elect after which he was sworn in as Senator.

But Onu has rejected the result, vowing to challenge it at the tribunal.

In the petition, Onu is urging the tribunal to disqualify Ani on grounds of forgery and failure to resign his position as a public servant before the said election.

He alleged that Ani presented a forged birth certificate to INEC, contrary to section 66 of the Constitution.

He also alleged that Ani did not resign as a Lecturer at the Federal University of Technology Owerri, FUTO, before the election as required for public servants.

According to him, while Ani in documents submitted to INEC claimed to have resigned on 20th December, 2023, he, however, continued to receive salaries after the said date of resignation.

“The Petitioners contend that the requirement for public servants who wish to contest election into the Nigerian Senate to resign in line with section 6 (1)(f) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) is sacrosanct and cannot be waived or ignored,” the petition said.

Onu and his party are also urging the tribunal to declare the election as conducted in Afikpo Local Government Area invalid due to over-voting.

They alleged that facts before them show that INEC failed to comply with the Electoral Act which prescribed cancellation of election results in polling units where number of votes exceeded number of accredited voters in the local government area.

Onu and his party, PDP, are therefore urging the tribunal to issue “an order cancelling all the entire result of Afikpo North Local Government Area and declaring same as invalid votes”.