Appeal Court Reverses Tribunal’s Judgment, Sacks PDP’s Elumelu, Declares Labour Party’s Okolie Winner

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has overturned the verdict of the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Tribunal in Asaba, which had declared Ndudi Elumelu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the elected representative of Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency of Delta State.

The appellate court, in two separate rulings on Thursday, affirmed Ngozi Okolie of the Labour Party (LP) as the rightful winner of the February 25th poll.

The court faulted the tribunal for nullifying Okolie’s election and dismissed the petition filed by Elumelu before the lower tribunal, which had led to the annulled judgment.

The Court of Appeal concurred with the argument of the Labour Party’s counsel, Mahmud Magaji (SAN), that Okolie met all the legal requirements to contest and win the election.

The court held that Okolie was validly nominated and sponsored by his party and that he resigned his position as a Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to Delta State Government in compliance with the Constitution.

The court also rejected Elumelu’s claim that Okolie did not resign within 30 days before the election, noting that he tendered his resignation letter on January 24, 2023, which was more than 30 days before the poll.

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