Tribunal rejects lawsuit attempting to halt Mbah’s swearing-in

On Tuesday, the Enugu State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal rejected a request to halt Peter Mbah, the governor-elect, from taking office on May 29, 2023.

Nnamdi Omeje, a candidate for governor of Enugu for the African Democratic Party, and his group contested the outcome of the March 18 governorship election, in which Peter Mba, a candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party, was declared the victor by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The election, according to Omeje and his party, was marked by intimidation, excessive voting, and non-compliance with the Electoral Act of 2022 and INEC election rules.

As a result, he petitioned the tribunal located at the Enugu State High Court Complex to annul the election.

Stopping Peter Mbah from being sworn in as the next executive governor of Enugu State was one of the reliefs requested before the Tribunal.

The petitioners requested that the tribunal issue an interlocutory order of injunction prohibiting Mbah from appearing for the May 29, 2023, ceremonial swearing-in or inauguration as the Executive Governor of Enugu State in their motion.

However, in its decision on the motion on Tuesday, the tribunal rejected the request for lack of merit.