Delta Central Bye-Election: APC Drags PDP, INEC To Court

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All Progressives Congress (APC) has dragged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before an Abuja High Court, alleging forgery in the recently-held Delta Central Senatorial District Bye-election in Delta State.

The case filed on Wednesday is coming as a case is still pending at the National Assembly Election Tribunal, sitting in Benin, the Edo State capital.? APC candidate in the bye-election, Olorogun O'tega Emerhor, alleged in an affidavit that PDP connived with an INEC official, identified as Olawale Dawodu, to forge documents used to endorse the Nomination Form of PDP candidate, Senator Emmanuel Edesiri Aguariavwodo, who was declared winner of the October 12 bye-election.. Emerhor, in the affidavit, contended that Aguariavwodo was not a valid candidate in the bye-election having failed to meet the deadline set by INEC for the submission of nomination forms. He also alleged that PDP bribed Dawodu to write a false date of receipt on the nomination form. APC therefore asked the court to order the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General of the Federation to prosecute the PDP, its candidate, Aguariavwodo, and the accused INEC official, Dawodu, for forgery. The party also asked the court to order INEC to immediately withdraw the certificate of return issued to Aguariavwodo upon his declaration as the winner of the bye-election. APC is also asking the court to order INEC to immediately issue a certificate of return to Emerhor as the validly nominated candidate, who scored the highest number of votes, 29,075 in the bye-election upon withdrawal of the certificate from the PDP candidate. Furthermore, APC wants the court to declare that the PDP candidate did not comply with section 31(2) of the Electoral Act 2010, as amended, and therefore was not a candidate in the bye-election.