The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC has disclosed it would meet next week to take a decision on the latest letter written by incumbent Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, challenging its powers to withhold his Certificate of Return.
Okorocha was the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress in the February 23 Imo West Senatorial election.
The commission withheld his certificate of return after the Presiding Officer had declared him winner of the election. INEC claimed the declaration was made under duress.
In an interview with BusinessDay, Thursday, Festus Okoye, INEC commissioner for information and voter education, stated that though both parties were in court over the issue, the commission’s chairman would meet with commissioners to deliberate on the issue and decide on the next line of action.
“INEC chairman will meet next week with Commissioners to deliberate on the latest letter written by Okorocha and take a look at the issue again. Both parties are in court, but the INEC chairman is outside the country and most of the commissioners are on duty,” Okoye said.
The INEC Commissioner further stated that the commission was not concerned about comments attributed to the Governor on the issue, stressing that it would, however, not take any action that is outside the law.
“The case is in court but we believe what we are doing is in accordance with the law,” Okoye added.
Governor Okorocha, who is completing his second term in office later this month, had insisted recently that going by laws governing elections in the country, INEC had no power not to issue him a Certificate of Return.
He added that if there were issues with an election after the announcement of a winner, the Election Petitions Tribunal would resolve them.
According to him, “Section 285(1) of the 1999 Constitution states that ‘There shall be established for the Federation one or more election tribunals to be known as the National Assembly Elections Tribunal which shall, to the exclusion of any court or tribunal, have original jurisdiction to hear and determine petitions as to whether (a) any person has been validly elected as a member of the National Assembly.
Section 133 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) provides that ‘No election and return at an election under this Act shall be questioned in a manner other than by a petition complaining of an undue election or an undue return presented to the competent tribunal or court in accordance with the provisions of the constitution or of this Act, and in which the person elected or returned is joined as a party.’
“Where then did INEC derive the power to withhold a certificate of return after a winner in an election had been announced?” Okorocha asked.
