BEVERLY HILLS, March 21, (THEWILL) – The Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, has asked the Federal High Court Abuja to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), to issue him with a Certificate of Return as the senator-elect for Imo West Senatorial District.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/296/2019, filed through his team of lawyers led by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Kehinde Ogunwumiju, the Governor insisted that INEC lacked the statutory powers to withhold his Certificate of Return declaring that he was validly elected to occupy the senatorial seat.
He, therefore, urged the court to declare that the electoral body acted in error when it refused to recognise him, even after the returning officer had declared him the winner.
The judge, Taiwo Taiwo, has fixed April 5 to commence hearing on the matter where INEC was cited as the sole defendant.
THEWILL recalls that Okorocha was declared the winner of the Imo West senatorial election but the presiding officer, Francis Ibeawuchi, said he was forced to make the declaration under duress which made INEC remove Okorocha’s name from the elected senators’ list and failed to issue him a certificate of return.
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