The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Thursday, has set aside the judgment of the National and State House of Assembly Election Tribunal delivered on July 24, which declared Ndudi Elumelu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as winner of the last election for Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency of Delta State.
The court which is sitting in Asaba, Delta State, affirmed the candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Ngozi Okolie, as the duly elected lawmaker.
It faulted the tribunal for voiding Okolie’s election and proceeded to dismiss the petition filed by Elumelu before the trial tribunal and on which the voided judgment was given.
The Court agreed with counsel to the Labour Party, Mahmud Magaji, that contrary to the finding of the tribunal, Okolie was duly nominated and sponsored by his party and that he resigned his appointment as a Senior Special Assistant to Delta State Government as required by the Constitution.
What you should know
- Recall that earlier in February 2023, Ngozi Okolie of LP had polled a total vote of 53,879 to defeat the incumbent minority leader, Elumelu, of the Peoples Democratic Party who pulled 33,456 while Tony Nwaake polled 11, 712 votes.
- However, Elumelu filed a petition before the tribunal on the grounds that Okolie was not duly sponsored by the LP since he was not a member of the party as of May 28, 2022, when the party’s primary election was held.
- The three-member panel of the tribunal, headed by A.Z. Mussa, in its ruling, agreed with Elumelu and disqualified the LP candidate. They declared him the winner of the 2023 House of Representatives election for the constituency, in July, 2023