The Edo State Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Benin on Friday upturned the election of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Yakubu Gowon, as the lawmaker representing Etsako West II Constituency in the Edo State House of Assembly.

Gowon had been declared the winner of the April 11 state assembly poll and returned elected to represent the constituency, where Governor Adams Oshiomhole hails from, by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

But in the judgement, Justice E. Abuua held that the APC candidate was not duly nominated by his party. The tribunal explained that the APC’s notice of intention to hold party primaries, which he sent to INEC, was less than the mandatory 21 days.

It said the notice was given on November 13, 2014, while the primaries was conducted  on December 1, 2014.  The tribunal, therefore, held that all the votes cast for the APC candidate were wasted and that the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Sylvanus Eriagha, who was the first runner up with 4,001 votes was the rightful person to be declared winner of the poll.

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