Recently, Barrister Kenneth Imansuangbon, an aspirant in the Edo State gubernatorial election on the the platform of the Labour Party(LP), went to court(Federal High Court of Nigeria, Abuja Division and the Federal High Court of Nigeria, Benin Division) to get a better interpretation of the Constitution as regards the right situation as per the announced winner of the party’s primary, Barrister Olumide Akpata.
It should be noted that Barrister Imansuangbon in his petition stated that Barrister Akpata committed a horde of offences ranging from giving false information to the acquisition of citizenship of another country, which is a grand departure from the Nigerian Constitution’s accepted norms.
On the allegation of false information, Barrister Imansuangbon alleged that Barrister Akpata while filling INEC form EC 9 “stated his name to be Akpata Olumide Anthony which is different from and not the same as Akpata Olumide Osaigbovo” which he earlier stated on oath to be his name and under which he contested and reportedly won the primary election of the LP.
Imansuangbon wanted the court to determine whether Akpata “has not supplied or otherwise given false information to the INEC within the meaning or contemplation of the provisions of section 29(5) of the Electoral Act 2022 read together with section 182(1) (a) and (j) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).”
On Akpata taking an oath of allegiance of Vanuatu, an independent and sovereign nation, Imansuangbon wanted clear interpretation of the Nigerian constitution to know if Akpata’s “claim on oath, in the said INEC form EC 9 that he has not voluntarily acquired the citizenship of another country is not or does not amount to false information, within the meaning of the provisions of section 29(5) of the Electoral Act, 2022, read together with section 182(1) (a) and (j) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria(as amended).”
On Oluyinka Faith Alufokhai, “who is parading herself” as the running mate of Barrister Akpata, the petitioner cited some information that she supplied in INEC form EC 9 which do not add up. The information include that “she was born in 1981 and that she obtained her First School Leaving Certificate in the same year of her birth.
“Her name is Alufokhai Oluyinka Faith while her former name was Ikheafe and she obtained three certificates namely OND, HND and PGD the same year, 2005.”
How Akpata is going to extricate himself from these chain of allegations by Imansuangbon, who was adjudged to have come next to him in the LP primary, is what the Nigerian public and indeed the Edo electorates are watching quietly ahead of the governorship polls slated for Saturday, September 21st.
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