Following the judgement of the National Assembly/Legislative House Election Petition Tribunal which declared Ndudi Elumelu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner, the member representing Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency on the Labour Party platform, Ngozi Okolie, has appealed the judgement sacking him from office.
However, the Court of Appeal sitting in Asaba, Delta State capital, has fixed August 24, 2023, to begin hearing of the appeal filed by Okolie who defeated Elumelu, a former minority leader of the House of Representatives.
According to The Nation, Okolie’s counsel, Chike Onyemenam (SAN), had filed a nine-ground appeal seeking to quash the judgment of the National Assembly/Legislative House Election Petition Tribunal led by Justice A. Z. Mussa.
Okolie is the appellant, while Elumelu (PDP), Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and LP are joined as respondents.
Justice Mussa on July 24 nullified the election of Okolie (LP) as the member representing Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency.
The tribunal held that LP did not duly sponsor Okolie, as he was not a member as at May 28, 2022, when its primary election was held and declared Ndudi as the winner.
Some of the reliefs sought by Okolie are: “An order setting aside the judgment of the tribunal and in its place, an order dismissing the petition before the lower tribunal for failure of the petitioners (1st and 2nd respondents herein) to make out a prima facie case on same and for consequently failing to establish the grounds for presenting same and facts pleaded in support of the said grounds as required by law.
“An order restoring the declaration and return of the appellant by INEC at the polls as the winner of the election and duly elected member of the House of Representatives for Aniocha Oshimili Federal Constituency, having scored the majority of lawful votes cast at the election.
“An order that the chairman and members of the tribunal erred in law by holding that the original INEC nomination Form EC9 tendered by Labour Party (2nd respondent at the tribunal) said to be uploaded to INEC electronically, which INEC admitted that it consequently received and published the name of the appellant as the Labour Party candidate for the election.”
(in September 2022) over six months before the election was inadmissible to prove that Labour Party forwarded the name of the appellant as its candidate to INEC for the election because the Certified True Copy of the Uploaded INEC Form EC9 is what ought to have been tendered and proceeded to hold that Labour Party did not forward the name of the appellant as its candidate to INEC for the election, hence Labour Party did not sponsor the appellant and proceeded to hold that the appellant was not qualified to contest the election, thereby occasioning a gross miscarriage of justice on the appellant.
“An order that the judgment is against the weight of evidence.”
