The National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Umuahia has ruled in favor of Deputy Speaker Rep. Benjamin Kalu, dismissing a petition challenging his election. Justice Samson Paul-Gang, leading the three-member panel on Tuesday, declared the petition by the Labour Party (LP) lacked merit. The judge ruled that the petitioners failed to substantiate their case beyond reasonable doubt, resulting in the dismissal.
The LP candidate, Chief Frank Chinasa, had contested the re-election of Rep. Benjamin Kalu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Bende Federal Constituency of Abia state. Chinasa’s counsel, Mr. Yunus Usman (SAN), argued that Kalu was ineligible for the election due to his alleged lack of the educational requirements outlined in Section 65(2)(a) of the 1999 Constitution. Usman also asserted that Kalu had used different names on various educational certificates, apart from his current name, Kalu Benjamin Okezie.
Additionally, Usman claimed that Form EC9 submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by Kalu bore the name “Osisiogu Benjamin Okezie,” while other official documents carried variations of Kalu’s name. These inconsistencies, according to the petitioner’s counsel, disqualified Kalu from contesting the election.
In response, Kalu’s legal representative, Mr. Kelvin Nwufo, urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition due to a lack of merit. Nwufo presented evidence of a deed of proof and a Federal Government gazette, which he argued had validly harmonized the differing versions of Kalu’s name.
Justice Samson Paul-Gang, in his ruling, emphasized that the burden of proof for alleged certificate falsification rested on the petitioner, who failed to provide conclusive evidence beyond reasonable doubt. As a result, the tribunal dismissed the petition against Rep. Benjamin Kalu’s election.
The proceedings also witnessed a mild drama involving the Action Alliance (AA) candidate, Mr. Ifeanyi Igbokwe, who filed a fresh application regarding the imposition of his name. Igbokwe clarified that he was not contesting Kalu’s re-election but was seeking information about someone using his name to challenge Kalu’s victory. The tribunal adjourned further proceedings to a later date.
The counsel to the AA, Mr. Daniel Anya, previously submitted a final written address on August 14, requesting the annulment of Kalu’s election due to the exclusion of the party’s name and logo from the ballot during the poll.
