Chief Judge of the Court of Appeal, Monica Mensem, has directed that the Ebonyi State Election Petition Tribunal be relocated to Abuja immediately.
The Secretary of the tribunal, Nyior Sekulla announced this in Abakaliki on Wednesday, April 26, 2023.
Following the directive according to him, the election petition Tribunal office at the Ebonyi State Judiciary Headquarters in Abakaliki has shut down from today.
He said all processes relating to matters before the Tribunal would continue at Abuja.
He said: “The Honourable Justice Monica Dongban Mensem, President Court of Appeal – HPCA has through the Deputy Chief Registrar, Election Petition Tribunal (EPT) Headquarters Abuja, directed the relocation of EPT sitting here to FCT Abuja”
“Therefore, in compliance with the HPCA directives, the petitioners, counsel to parties and the general public are hereby informed via this medium that, the EPT sitting here in Abakaliki, thereby cease to operate in Abakaliki as of 26-04-23; filings of processes, taking of proceedings etc. shall henceforth continue at Abuja.”
On the reason for the decision to move the Tribunal to Abuja, Mr Henry said it was not within his powers to speak on the reasons.
The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ebonyi State, Ifeanyi Odii, and that of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Bernard Odoh, had rejected the declaration of Francis Nwifuru as the winner of the 18 March election and governor-elect of the state.
The PDP candidate, Mr Odii came second, while the APGA candidate, Mr Odoh came third.
The duo in separate statements appealed for calm from their supporters promising to do all within the law to get the results upturned.
Odii in the statement issued rejecting the polls described the outcome of the exercise as a “broad day robbery of the people’s mandate”.
While his APGA counterpart, Odoh alleged that the result of the election as declared by INEC did not reflect the wishes of the electorate as expressed in the ballot.