Mao Ohuabunwa, Senator, representing Abia North says his victory at the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, Thursday has vindicated him, saying that he defeated a former governor of Abia State, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, fair and square.

Kalu contested against Mao in the March 5, 2016 senatorial rerun in Abia North, as ordered by the Owerri Division of the Court of Appeal, and lost for the second time.

Mao had earlier clinched victory over Kalu in the 2015 senatorial election in Abia North. Kalu kicked and went to court. The lower tribunal ruled in favour of Mao, prompting the former Abia chief executive to race to the Appeal Court, which ordered a rerun.

At the rerun election, Mao floored Kalu again but the business mogul challenged the outcome, fuming that it was a fraudulent victory.

But last Thursday, the tribunal disagreed with his allegations that fraud and irregularities marred the poll, saying that the petitioner “was grossly confused” and could not prove his case beyond reasonable doubt.

In the eight hours judgment read by the chairman of the three-man tribunal, Justice James Abundaga, the tribunal held that “none of the allegations contained in the petition was proved beyond reasonable doubt.”

Members of the tribunal were unanimous that the petition challenging the outcome of the Abia North March 5 rerun poll was “ambiguous, imprecise, vague, nebulous and incomprehensible.” They added that the petitioner could not pinpoint where the alleged electoral malpractices took place but rather indulged in the expressions, “some polling units, various polling units, a number of polling units.”

The tribunal even stumbled on a shocking revelation as it discovered that it was the petitioner that indeed, padded votes by adding 4, 200 votes to his score in three wards in Bende Local Government Area.

The tribunal wasted no time in deducting the extra votes from the 25, 814 votes credited to Kalu by INEC, thereby leaving Kalu trailing behind Mao by over 4,000 votes which was added to his initial score of 26,009 votes.

Despite the “heavy premium” that the petitioner placed on the evidence given by the forensic expert who claimed that there evidences of multiple thumb printing of thousands of votes, the tribunal faulted the process used in arriving at the findings and, therefore, discountenanced the it.

The tribunal was emphatic that the evidence of the petitioner and his 33 witnesses did not hold any water as they were full of inconsistencies and false allegations.

The tribunal also held that the petition was “vitiated” by non-joinder of Peoples Democratic Party as respondent; adding that the criminal allegations of electoral malpractices leveled against the party could not be sustained without giving it the opportunity of fair hearing.

Consequently, the 10 paragraphs containing criminal allegations against PDP in the petition were consequently struck out.

Reacting to his legal victory, Ohuabunwa said the decision of the tribunal was an indication that he actually defeated Kalu at the polls.

The senator dedicated his victory to God and the people of Abia North with the assurance of effective representation that would be loaded with dividends of democracy.

Kalu has given indication that he would appeal the ruling.

•Photo shows Senator Mao Ohuabunwa.

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