By Milcah Tanimu

Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State, representing the All Progressives Congress (APC), has secured the affirmation of his election victory by the Supreme Court. The ruling, led by Justice Tijjani Abubakar on Friday, dismissed two separate appeals challenging Nwifuru’s victory, declaring them “patently unmeritorious.”

The appeals, brought by Chief Ifeanyi Odii of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Prof. Benard Odoh of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), contested Nwifuru’s win in the gubernatorial election held on March 18, 2023. The Supreme Court, in its decision, upheld the previous verdicts of the State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, endorsing Nwifuru’s triumph.

Governor Nwifuru had been declared the winner by the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) after securing 199,131 votes, defeating his closest rival, Dr. Odii of the PDP, who garnered 80,191 votes.

Despite the outcome, Odii and Odoh contested the election results, initially approaching the tribunal with allegations, including Nwifuru’s purported presentation of a forged certificate to INEC, challenging his eligibility for the election. However, on September 27, 2023, the tribunal dismissed the petitions, citing a lack of merit and failure to substantiate the claims of certificate forgery.

The tribunal further emphasized that certain grounds of the petitions involved pre-election issues falling within the internal affairs of a political party. The Supreme Court’s decision, therefore, solidifies Nwifuru’s electoral mandate in Ebonyi State.