Tribunal affirms Wombo’s election as House of Reps member

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

The National/State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in Makurdi has affirmed the election of Solomon Wombo of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as the duly elected member of the House of Representatives for Katsina-Ala/Ukum/Logo Federal Constituency.
Wombo had scored a total 59,959 votes to defeat his closest rival Richard Gbande of the Peoples’ Democratic, PDP who scored 39,415 votes at the February 25th 2023 election.
The latter had approached the tribunal with a petition, alleging
that the first respondent (Wombo) was not duly elected by majority of lawful votes cast at the election.
Gbande called 19 witnesses in defence of his case even as his complaint of irregularities was only in 57 out of the 750 polling units in the constituency, while the first respondent called only one witness.
Delivering judgement, the Tribunal chairman Justice Ory-Zik Okeorha said they came face to face with the recent judgement of the Presidential Election case between Peter Obi against INEC and three others delivered on 6th September 2023, maintaining that without a shadow of doubt, a vital aspect of this superior judgement had the effect of totally changing the trajectory of the tribunal in this matter.
She acknowledged and commended the proactive, thoughtful intervention and professionalism exhibited by learned Senior counsel Mathew Kukah Esq in supplying to the tribunal copy of the judgement, adding that the vital aspect of the judgement has to do with the status in law of the written statement of subpoenaed witnesses whose side statements were filed after the period allowed for the filing of election petition along with other front loaded documents or processes.