Felix Igwe V. Mike Omunakwe Wali & Ors (1992)

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AKINTAN, J.C.A.

This is an appeal from the judgment of the National Assembly Election Tribunal sitting in Port Harcourt delivered on 29th September, 1992. The appellant (1st respondent at the Tribunal) and the 1st respondent (Petitioner at the Tribunal) were candidates in the National Assembly Elections held on 4th July, 1992 into the House of Representatives for Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency. The appellant contested the election on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (S.D.P.) while the 1st respondent contested on the platform of the National Republican Convention (N.R.C.).

At the end of the elections, the appellant was credited with 28,555 votes to the 1st respondent’s 28,113 votes. The 3rd respondent (Resident Electoral Commissioner) therefore declared the appellant duly elected with a majority of 442 votes over his 1st respondent opponent.

The 1st respondent was dissatisfied with the result declared. He therefore filed a petition at the National Assembly Election Tribunal holden at Port Harcourt in which he prayed the Tribunal for the following reliefs:-

(a) That the said Felix Achinike Igwe (1st respondent) was not duly elected and or returned.

(b) That the said Mike Omunakwe Wali (Petitioner) was duly elected having scored higher lawful votes than the 1st respondent and should be returned as duly elected:

(c) An order directing the 2nd to the 6th respondents to give effect to the aforesaid orders.”

The petitioner/1st respondent pleaded inter alia as follows in paragraphs 3, 4, 5, 6 and 15 of his petition:

“3. The result released by the 3rd respondent on 8th of July, 1992 for the 10 Wards in Obio/Akpor Local Government is as follows:

WARD RESULT

NRC SDP

(Petitioner) (1st Respondent)

OBIO 1,351 4,996

II 907 2,085