Three elected members of the Delta State House of Assembly who contested and won on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the just concluded March 9, 2019 elections have not been issued certificates of return.
At the issuance of certificates ceremony on Wednesday in the state, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) refused to issue them the certificates based on the recent court judgement that sacked the Great Ogboru/Ovie Omo-Agege faction of the state executive of APC led by Jones Erue, from which the three lawmakers-elect emerged.
The lawmakers-elect are Anidi Emosivwe (Ethiope East constituency), Oniyere Whomrouho (Ughelli North I constituency) and Egbo Jaro (Ughelli North II constituency),
While presenting the certificates of return to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa; his deputy, Kingsley Otuaro, and other House of Assembly members-elect who contested on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), at the INEC office in Asaba, Mohammed Lecky, the INEC National Commissioner, said their certificates were denied as a result of “pending legal issues”.
Also denied certificate of return was Ochor Christopher Ochor, a PDP House of Assembly member-elect from Ukwuani constituency. Our correspondent subsequently gathered that Ochor’s case was a mistake of identity, and he had been told to come over to the INEC headquarters in Abuja to receive his certificate of return on a later date.
