Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, disclosed on Tuesday that he has been vindicated on the validation of his name by the ruling of the National Assembly Elections Petitions Tribunal sitting in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, which also upheld his election.
Hon. Kalu stated this via a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr Levinus Nwabughiogu, in Abuja.
Hon. Kalu, upon receipt of the exciting news in Abuja, expressed immense gratitude to the Judiciary for recognising that he followed due process and other extant laws to validate his name.
While also thanking the people of the Bende federal constituency, on whose mandate he stands, the Deputy Speaker reiterated his unwavering confidence in the Judiciary’s ability to do justice to issues at all times.
“I have never doubted the ability of the judiciary at any level to do justice to issues. My confidence in them has always been unwavering.
It has, once again, vindicated me on this matter and also upheld my mandate as the elected representative of the people, in this case, the Bende Federal Constituency of Abia State. I am grateful,” Hon. Kalu said.
Recall that the Candidate of the Labour Party in the February 25, 2023, National Assembly elections, Frank Chinasa, petitioned the Tribunal, seeking the nullification of Hon. Kalu’s election on account of an alleged inconsistency in his name change.
Recall also that shortly after Hon. Kalu’s first term election in 2019, one Okay Ezeala also approached the court seeking the nullification of the election on the same ground.
But Justice O. A. Chijioke of the Umuahia High Court, while delivering his judgement on the matter on August 25, 2021, ruled in favour of Hon. Kalu and subsequently awarded a cost to the petitioner for wasting the time of the court in a frivolous suit.
Ridiculously, the Labour Party’s Chinasa also dusted off the same matter that had been laid to rest, fronting before the Tribunal after this year’s general elections.
In a remarkable, unanimous judgement by the three-man panel read by the Chairman, Justice Samson Paul Gang, on Tuesday, August 22, 2023, in Umuahia, the Tribunal dismissed the petition and denied all the prayers of the Petitioner for lacking merit.
The panel held that Hon. Kalu’s certificates were never forged and that the names on the certificates were all his.
The tribunal also held that Hon. Kalu had since harmonised his names through a Deed Pool published in a federal gazette, backed by a newspaper publication of a change of name, insisting that the petitioner could not establish any case of certificate forgery against him.
It also confirmed that the harmonisation of the Deputy Speaker’s name followed the laid-down rules.
The Tribunal further held that since the election results were never contested, Hon. Kalu, therefore, remains the winner of the National Assembly elections for Bende Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.
It will also be recalled that last week, the candidate of the Action Alliance (AA) in the election, Ifeanyi Igbokwe, dissociated himself from the suit against Kalu.
Revealing that he had since accepted the outcome of the election, Igbokwe said he never authorised any individual, group of individuals, or party to file any suit on his behalf, insisting that he was impersonated.
The Deputy Speaker, who expressed his happiness over the development from the tribunal, also extends his appreciation to his Constituents in Bende, other teeming supporters across the country, his legal team, and indeed, all those who stood by him throughout the period of this exasperating legal voyage.
He promised not to take the people’s mandate and the demands of his current office for granted.
The Deputy Speaker, however, called on his political detractors to shun frivolities, accept their rights under the extant laws, embrace the will of God and the verdict of the Tribunal, as well as that of Ndi Bende, and join him in the task of enacting good legislation for the good of the country.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
‘We want to go back to school’: Untold story of out-of-school kids in Ibadan
One of the kids who spoke to our reporter, Saheed Abiodun, ran away from home to look for succour in…
Mali, Burkina Faso deploy warplanes to Niger Republic, meet on response to ECOWAS military threat
AMID mounting pressure by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to restore civilian rule in the Niger Republic, Burkina Faso and…
FG appoints 11 new CMDs for federal medical facilities
Federal Government has appointed 11 new Medical Directors for the Federal Government established Medical Facilities in…
#BBNaijaAllStars: Biggie pulls another twist, introduces 4 new housemates
During the Sunday live eviction show of BBNaija, host Ebuka Obi-Uchendu unveiled a new twist that…
Employment racketeering at FCC
IF there was any scintilla of doubt that the civil/public service in the country is a cesspit of corruption, the recent scandalous revelations of…
Messi becomes most decorated footballer after winning record 44 titles
Following his Leagues Cup title wins with Inter Miami, Argentina captain and World Cup winner, Lionel Messi has..
and then