The Court of Appeal in Abuja has nullified the election victory of Emmanuel Ukpong-Udo, who represented the Ikono/Ini Federal Constituency of Akwa Ibom State in the House of Representatives.
The lead judge, Abba Mohammed, delivered the judgment on Wednesday, January 17, declaring that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s declaration of Ukpong-Udo as the winner violated the Electoral Act 2022 and Manual for Election Officials 2023.
This decision upholds the earlier verdict of the Akwa Ibom Election Petition Tribunal, which had also invalidated Ukpong-Udo’s victory.
The tribunal had ordered a re-run in polling units where the election could not take place during the National Assembly election on February 25, 2023.
The Court of Appeal specified that the re-run should occur in 33 polling units within the constituency to determine the rightful winner.
Emmanuel Ukpong-Udo, initially elected to the National Assembly in 2019 under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), defected to the Young Progressive Party (YPP).
The returning officer, Patrick Aderorho, had declared him the winner of the 2023 election with 19,926 votes, defeating the PDP candidate, Glory Edet, who scored 15,765.
However, INEC later reversed its decision, declaring the election inconclusive due to violence that marred the electoral process.
Consequently, the Court of Appeal’s recent ruling underscores the need for a re-run in specific polling units to determine the legitimate representative of the Ikono/Ini Federal Constituency
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