Appeal Court reverses Elumelu’s victory in dispute over Rep seat

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has set aside the July 24 judgment delivered by the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal in Asaba which declared Ndudi Elumelu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) the winner of the February 25 election for Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency of Delta State.
The appellate court, in two judgments yesterday, declared Ngozi Okolie of the Labour Party (LP) winner of the election.

The court upheld the arguments by LP’s lawyer Mahmud Magaji (SAN) that, as against the finding of the trial tribunal, Okolie was duly nominated and sponsored by his party.

It also held that Okolie resigned his appointment as a Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to Delta State government within the required period as provided in Section 66(1)(f) of the Constitution.

A three-member panel of the court, led by Justice Mohammed Shuaibu, resolved all the issues identified for determination against Elumelu and the PDP.

The judge dismissed Elumelu’s and PDP’s petitions and awarded N100,000 cost against them.

Also, All Progressives Congress (APC) women from the 17 local government areas in Abia State yesterday protested in Umuahia, the state capital, the alleged attempt to use the Court of Appeal to overturn the election victory of the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha.

The women, who chanted pro-APC and Onyejeocha solidarity songs, carried placards with various inscriptions.

The peaceful protesters were led by the APC Aba Central State House of Assembly candidate in the 2023 general election, Lady Jane Ogbauta.

The women said they had planned the march in Abuja but learnt that the party’s National Welfare Secretary, Donatus Nwankpa, was in the state.

Lady Ogbauta said they had learnt that some people were planning to use the Court of Appeal to overturn the tribunal victory of Onyejeocha.

The women, who protested on the aegis of Asiwaju Super Women With Onyejeocha, described the victory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Onyejeocha at the election petitions tribunal as a true reflection of the people’s trust in both of them.

They berated what they called sponsored protest against Onyejeocha in Abuja by those they said were afraid of her political sagacity.

In Nasarawa State, the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal yesterday reserved judgment in the petition filed by the candidate of the PDP, David Umbugadu, against the re-election of Governor Abdullahi Sule of the APC.

The three-member panel, led by Justice Ezekiel Ajayi, said the date for the judgment would be communicated to parties.

Also, the National/State Houses of Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal in Benin, the Edo State capital, yesterday affirmed the election of Edo South senatorial candidate of the LP, Senator Neda Imasuen.

The PDP candidate, Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, and his party, challenged Imasuen’s victory in the February 25 poll.

The petitioners sought the nullification of Imasuen’s victory for alleged non-qualification, over-voting, corrupt practice, non-compliance with the Electoral Act by the INEC, and his nomination by LP.

The Justice Yusuf Mohammed-led three-member tribunal dismissed the petition for lacking in merit and incompetent.

In the over three-hour judgment, the tribunal insisted that the allegations of non-qualification, and party nomination or sponsorship for an election were pre-election matters that could only be addressed by a Federal High Court.

It said the petitioners also failed to prove that the LP senator did not score the majority of valid votes cast in the poll.

Also, the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) in Lagos has declared as inconclusive the election that produced Thaddeus Atta of the LP as the elected representative for Eti-Osa Federal Constituency.

The tribunal ordered the INEC to withdraw the Certificate of Return it issued to Atta.

It also ordered INEC to conduct a supplementary election within 90 days in 33 polling units where it found that elections did not hold.

Also, a Federal lawmaker, Beni Lar, has said she would appeal the nullification of her election victory by the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Jos, the Plateau State capital.

Lar had won her re-election to represent Langtang North/Langtang South Federal Constituency, but the tribunal ruled that she did not win the election.

The lawmaker claimed that three parties – the APC, PDP, and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) – were the front runners in the election in which several others also took part.

According to her, she won with 42,008 votes, while APC’s candidate, Vincent Bulus, had 21,345 votes and the SDP’s Solomon Dalung had 3,369 votes.

Lar vowed to appeal the judgment.