Posted by The certificate fabrication charge against Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governor Peter Mbah was thrown out by the Governorship Election Tribunal in Enugu State.
It found that Elder Christopher Agu, a candidate for the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), had no valid arguments.
Agu said that Mbah falsified his NYSC credentials, which would have required him to serve in the military. Overvoting and other election irregularities were also among his claims.
On Thursday, however, a Tribunal presided over by Justice Kudirat Morayo Akano ruled that the petitioner lacked sufficient evidence to establish that the respondent had committed fraud.
Since the matter was not raised in the petitioner’s affidavit, the Tribunal ruled that PRP’s contention that a fake certificate was presented to INEC was without merit.
It specifically said both the original and the allegedly faked certificate should have been presented as evidence of forgery.
The Tribunal stated that there was no evidence of a plea bargain on the part of Mbah based on the materials supplied by the petitioners. The court found that Mbah’s testimony was consistent with a verdict of not guilty.
The panel further said that petitioners’ witnesses were unable to identify the specific voting units where elections were not held or the outcomes of those polling units.
According to its findings, the March 18 governor’s race and Governor Peter Mbah’s subsequent reelection were in accordance with the Electoral Act, 2022.