The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in Asaba has declared the Delta central senatorial district election held on February 25 as inconclusive. Led by Justice W.I. Kpochi, the tribunal ordered a re-run in select units across four local government areas within the district. The Certificate of Return previously granted to Senator Ede Dafinone from the All Progressive Congress (APC) has been directed to be revoked by the tribunal.
Ighoyota Amori, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, had petitioned the tribunal to either declare him the winner or mandate a re-run in the disputed council areas. This decision follows last week’s tribunal’s ruling declaring another election inconclusive, this time for Senator Joel Onowakpo (APC) of Delta South, with a supplementary election ordered for Warri South Local Government Area.
However, the tribunal did validate the election of Benedict Etanabene of the Labour Party, representing Okpe/Sapele/Uvwie federal constituency. A petition against him, filed by PDP’s Evelyn Oboro citing discrepancies about Etanabene’s prior employment, was dismissed. INEC had previously confirmed Etanabene’s win with 37,107 votes, compared to Oboro’s 29,917.
