By Raphael Ekpang
As the Appeal Court, Lagos State division on Friday put to rest the Enugu East Senatorial District election matter, Senator Kelvin Chizoba Chukwu has enjoined all well meaning citizens of Enugu to join hands with him to move the state forward.
Sen. Chukwu (Labour Party) defeated the former governor of Enugu State, Sen Chimaroke Nnamani who was the incumbent federal lawmaker representing Enugu East Senatorial District at the red chamber prior to the election and others to emerge the winner.
Recall that his party graciously replaced him with his elder brother Barr. Oiybo Chukwu, who was gruesomely murdered during the build up to the presidential and National Assembly elections.
Further recall that Professor Joachim Omeje had declared Chukwu Kelvin Chizoba, Senatorial candidate for Enugu East Senatorial zone under the platform of Labour Party winner of the election conducted on Saturday 18th March 2023.
Chukwu polled a total of sixty-nine thousand, one hundred and thirty-six (69,136) votes to emerge winner while his closest rival, Chimaroke Nnamani of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) got a total of forty-eight thousand, seven hundred and one (48,701) votes.
The soft spoken federal lawmaker maintains that; “There is no Victor no Vanished. The winning is for our people, so I want to enjoin all my co- contestants to join hands with me in order to move Enugu senatorial district forward.”
According to the statement by his media assistant, Ubeh Phillip Bernard, the victory of Sen. Chukwu at the Appeal Court on Friday has put an end to all the needless distractions arising from electoral litigations, adding that the legal luminary will now focus his energy on lawmaking, oversights and effective representations to the good people of Nigeria and Enugu East senatorial district in particular.
Recall that Oyibo Chukwu was killed ahead of the election and body set ablaze at Amechi Awkunanaw in Enugu South LGA on February 23 after gunmen opened fire on his convoy. Five of his supporters in the car were also killed in the incident.
However, Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following the ugly incident, announced the suspension of the election for the senatorial district and rescheduled it to March 11, as a result of the gruesome murder.
Meanwhile, LP quickly went for a fresh party primary conducted few days later and Kelvin Chukwu was declared as the winner by Innocent Okeke, LP’s south-east chairman. He went ahead to win at the main election as rescheduled by the electoral umpire.
