100 senators get certificates of return, Rochas Excluded 

Ahead of the 9th national Assembly to be inaugurated by June 8, 100 senators yesterday receive their certificate of return but the Imo state outgoing governor Rochas Okorocha has been excluded.  He was not among the senators presented with Certificates of Return (CoRs) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Abuja yesterday.

Earlier, INEC has issued out an official statement on their website, stating reason the agency will not recognise the Imo governor as the senator-elect over claims by the Returning Officer (RO)that he announced Okorocha as winner of the February 23 National Assembly election under duress.

Inview of this, INEC placed an embargo on Okorocha’s victory at the poll, leaving the case to be handle by electoral tribunal. In similar vein is the suspension, his Ogun State counterpart, Ibikunle Amosun, by the All Progressives Congress (APC) for alleged anti-party activities.

They backed the candidates of other parties against the APC’s in the March governorship election. Okorocha backed his son-in-law Uche Nwosu of the Action Alliance (AA) against APC’s Senator Hope Uzodinma. Amosu supported Adekunle Akinlade of the Allied People’s Movement (APM) against Prince Dapo Abiodun, who won the poll.

In his opening remarks at the presentation of the CoRs, Prof. Yakubu noted that the commission will soon begin a review of the 2019 polls, in which all pending allegation, will be addressed.