Reps Seat: Court of appeal gives verdict on APC vs Labour Party

The Court of Appeal in Lagos has affirmed the victory of the Labour Party's Matthew Nwogu, the lawmaker representing the Aboh Mbaise/Ngor Okpala federal constituency of Imo State.

Akwitti Chibuzor, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the February 25 national assembly election, earlier lost at the Imo State National and State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal, where he had challenged the victory of the Labour Party candidate, Leadership reported.

Chibuzor was not pleased with the ruling of the tribunal and, therefore, approached the court of appeal for redress.

Justice Gumel-led three-member panel of justices, in its ruling on Thursday, November 2, dismissed the appeal of the APC candidate over lack of merit. In his reaction to the ruling of the court, the Labour Party lawmaker expressed his gladness about the court judgment and stated that the judiciary remained the last hope of the common man.

He urged the judges to continue to do the right things while calling on his opponent in the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to join hands with him in making the Aboh Mbaise nation progressives.

The lawmaker statement reads in part: “So, after the election we won, they went to Tribunal in Owerri, the Tribunal struck out the PDP matter. The APC, the Court struck out the matter also, saying that it was defective and didn’t meet the requirements of the Electoral Act."