The ultimate battle for the governorship of Enugu State has just begun, and it seems over before it began — By Emeka Ugwuonye

Honourable Chijioke Edeoga and Labour Party have delivered early on their promise to challenge the result of the recently concluded elections for the governorship of Enugu State, which declared Peter Mbah of the PDP winner in the most controversial circumstance imaginable. The promised challenge has commenced with a 35-paged petition that is heavily studded with compelling evidence and points of argument pointing strongly to irregularities, manipulations and distortions that characterized the elections, and which makes the announced victory for Mbah an impossibility under any shade of logic.

In a petition filed on the 5th of April, 2023, Edeoga’s legal team comprising Asiwaju Adegboyega S. Awomolo, who leads six other senior advocates, raised three grounds for seeking the nullification of the results of the Enugu State governorship elections and the declaration of Edeoga as the winner. The grounds are:

(1) That the Peter Mbah was, at the time of the election, not qualified to contest the election.
(2) That Peter Mbah was not duly elected by majority of lawful votes cast at the election.
(3) That the Election was not conducted in compliance with the Electoral Act, with respect to Section 134(1)(b) of the Electoral Act 2022. (The cited section of the law states that an election may be questioned on the ground that the election was invalid by reason of corrupt practices or non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act).

Most observers have all along been expecting the second and third grounds. What comes as a shock to many is the first ground, to wit; that Peter Mbah was not qualified to contest the election. Peter Mbah was the candidate anointed by the PDP apparatchik in Enugu State. To realize that he was not even qualified to contest the election as Governor of Enugu State will come as a rude shock to many of supporters and Godfathers. It means they had backed a wrong horse from day one and that rendered their mission a fundamental impossibility.

I shall therefore focus this post on the question of whether Peter Mbah was qualified to run as the Governor of Enugu State in the last election.

What has appeared from the court record is that doubts about Peter Mbah’s qualifications and his honesty have been in doubt way before the elections. Apparently, somebody who knew Peter Mbah closely had raised some credible doubts about his integrity as far back as October 2022. Immediately Mbah emerged as governorship candidate for PDP, somebody raised doubts about his credibility and integrity. The target of the suspicion had to do with Peter Mbah’s NYSC discharge certificate. It was said to have been a forgery. In other words, the suspicion was that Mbah had forged an NYSC discharge certificate (Certificate Number: A808297) and had been presenting that forged document as if genuine.

To contest for the election, Peter Mbah presented a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Certificate bearing Certificate Number: A808297 in order to qualify to contest. By virtue of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended), Peter Mbah would be disqualified from contesting election to the office of Governor of Enugu State if indeed he presented a forged National Youth Service Corps Certificate with Certificate Number A808297 to INEC. So, Edeoga will win in court if it can be shown that Peter Mbah did present a forged discharge certificate. It therefore boils down to whether Certificate Number: A808297 is forged or not.

Along with his Form EC9, Peter Mbah swore an affidavit and swore in that affidavit that he took part in the NYSC program and that at the end of it, he was issued a discharge certificate (Certificate Number: A808297). Let us not bother yet about the fact that to lie in an affidavit is a crime called perjury. Let us focus on the issue of whether the certificate in question is a forgery or not.

As evidence of forgery, Edeoga’s lawyers have tendered compelling evidence of investigation done in November of 2022 as to the veracity and genuineness of Certificate Number: A808297.

On the 23rd of November, 2022, one Mary Nneoma Elijah, Esq. of Omas & Partners, Suite F35, Efab Mall Extension, Area 11, Garki Abuja, made a written correspondence/request to the Director General, National Youth Service Corps, Plot 416 Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi, Maitama, Abuja as follows:

“We most humbly request pursuant to Section 1 of Freedom of Information Act, 2011, a confirmation of the status of Mr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, a graduate of University of East London, United Kingdom with National Youth Service Corps to wit:

“1. Whether he made himself available for one-year compulsory National Service to our father land in line with Section 2(b) of the NYSC Act Cap N84 2004.

“2. Confirmation of the attached copy of the Certificate of National Service with NYSC No: LA/FRN/01/800351 by issuing a Certified True Copy of his NYSC certificate in your custody.

“3. The Year of his service, and the state and place of his primary assignment.
4. Provide us with any other relevant information regarding his service to our father land.

“It is our firm believe that the attached copy of his Certificate of National Service will assist you in providing us with the requested information within 7 clear days pursuant to Section 4 of Freedom of Information Act.”

On the 1st day of February, 2023, NYSC replied to the letter of 23rd November, 2022 in a correspondence with Ref. No. NYSC/CCD/VERC/10/S.I/Vol II/02, addressed to the Principal Partner, Omas & Partners, Suite F 35, Efab Mall Extension, Area II, Garki Abuja (Attention Mary Nneoma Elijah), the Director Corps Certification of the National Youth Service Corps, Ibrahim A. Muhammed, who signed for the Director-General, wrote expressly as follows:

“1. I am directed to refer to your letter dated 23rd November, 2022 on the above subject and to convey Management’s delight for compliance with the provisions of NYSC Act regarding presentation of the Certificate of National Service or Exemption Certificate by employees/prospective employees holding Degree and HND Certificates.

“2. We are pleased to inform you that the Certificate of National Service belonging to Mbah Peter Ndubuisi with Certificate Number: A808297 forwarded for verification was not issued by the NYSC.”

These correspondence are now before the Election Tribunal. This is not rumour. This is hardcore evidence before the court. Mbah admitted that he partook in NYSC in 2002/2003 year, but the certificate numbers for those who were part of the program in that year are different from the number Mbah has been presenting. So, Edeoga’s lawyers may also rely on the records of the NYSC Certificates issued by the NYSC to persons who had completed their NYSC schemes in the 2002/2003 year, to show that Certificate Number: A808297 presented by Mbah is a forgery.

The consequence of the forgery as in the above analysis is crystal clear. It places the eligibility of Peter Mbah to contest the 18th March, 2023 Governorship Election in Enugu State under serious doubt. And if Mbah is disqualified by the tribunal, the next candidate, Edeoga, shall be declared the winner of the elections and shall become the next Governor of Enugu State.

In the next post, we shall examine the other grounds advanced by Edeoga’s lawyers, i.e., the issue of Section 134(1)(b) of the Electoral Act. Analysis will show that evidence available in support of these other grounds favour Edeoga. The facts in Enugu were identical to what obtained in Abia in the last election. While INEC followed the Act correctly and declared Otti the winner in Abia State, INEC did the opposite in Enugu and declared Mbah the winner. Abia did not go through the court. To see how the facts and evidence will play out in the tribunal, one needs to pay attention to the case of Ekiti State following the election of 2009 between Engineer Segun Oni of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and Dr. Kayode Fayemi of the Action Congress (AC).

In conclusion, while the outcome of every case rests in the court or tribunal, it is fair to predict at this point that Chijioke Edeoga will ultimately win on his petition and that Mbah will not serve as Governor of Enugu State for a full term as Governor of Enugu State. This fact must be borne in mind both by Mbah and the people of Enugu State. The victory declared by INEC will not stand the test of the law.