Senator Mao Ohuabunwa has denied any irregularities in the election, which produced him as the Senator representing Abia North Senatorial district.
Ohuabunwa, who was in the witness box, before the Abia State National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Umuahia, to testify in the petition brought against him by Chief David Onuoha-Bourdex of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, said he was not aware that the Independent National Electoral Commission, ( INEC) set up a committee to review the results.
DAILY POST recalls that another witness, Prof. Chukwugozie Iheakwaba had earlier told the tribunal that he declined to announce the result, when he spotted much electoral malpractices.
However, the Senator told the tribunal that the INEC appointed another returning officer, in the person of Prof. O. Etebat, when the Returning Officer, Prof. Chukwugozie Ihekweaba refused to announce the results given to him to announce by INEC.
When asked under cross examination by the petitioner’s counsel, O. Obianwu (SAN) if he knew why the result of an election that was conducted on March 28, 2015 took until April 1, 2015 to be announced, Senator Ohuabunwa replied that he did not know but that on that March 28th he was at INEC office demanding for them to announce him winner and waited the whole day but that nothing happened.
He said he when came back the next day waiting and demanding for them to announce him winner, the INEC had to beg him to calm down, that they cannot find the returning office to make the announcement, adding that that this went on until INEC now appointed another returning officer, who announced him winner.
Obianwu, however, told the witness that the reason for the delay was that the returning officer, Dr. Ihekweaba refused to sign the results because of the falsification observed and prompted INEC to appoint a committee to review the results, which committee issued a report of their findings for the two local governments examined.
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