APGA gov candidate withdraws petition, INEC insists Enugu election free, fair

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APGA gov candidate withdraws petition, INEC insists Enugu election free, fair

At the resumed hearing at the governorship election petition Tribunal sitting in Enugu on Sunday, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Frank Nweke Jr., announced the withdrawal of his petition against the declared winner of the election, Governor Peter Mbah, of the Peoples Democratic Party.

During the hearing, the Independent National Electoral Commission insisted that the Enugu State governorship election was free and fair.

Nweke, who came third in the governorship election with 17,983 votes as against Mbah’s 160,895 votes, announced the withdrawal of the petition before the Tribunal through an oral application by his counsel, Prof R.A.C.E Achara.

Achara said it became imperative to withdraw the petition filed on April 11, 2023, to reduce the workload of the tribunal.

The tribunal consequently granted the wish and dismissed the petition accordingly.

Confirming the withdrawal, Mr Nweke Jr., who was a Minister in the Chief Olusegun Obasanjo administration, said he decided to withdraw the petition against Mbah for personal reasons.