Tribunal sacks LP Rep member, declares Elumelu winner

The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Asaba, the Delta State capital, has nullified the election of the lawmaker representing Aniocha/Oshimili Constituency in the House of Representatives, Ngozi Okolie.

The tribunal however declared the immediate past Minority Leader of the House and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ndudi Elumelu, as the winner of the February 25, 2023, election.

Okolie, a member of the Labour Party (LP), was declared the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Elumelu later filed a petition before the tribunal praying it to disqualify Okolie.

Elumelu, in the petition no EPT/DL/HR/06/2023, argued that Okolie was not properly sponsored by the Labour Party, adding that he did not resign his position as a public office holder.

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Ruling on Monday, July 24, 2023, the three-member tribunal panel headed by Justice A.Z. Mussa, disqualified Okolie and declared the runners-up in the election, Elumelu, as the winner of the poll.

The tribunal held that Okolie was not duly sponsored by the Labour Party and that he was not a member of the party as of May 28, 2022, when the primary election was held.

It added that Okolie did not resign from public office to contest the election.

Speaking with newsmen after the ruling, the counsel for the petitioner, Andrew Osemenem, said: “The petitioner founded his petition on one ground, and that is the ground of qualification.

“That ground, we said through the witnesses and documents that the Labour Party candidate was not a member of the Labour Party as of 28th of May, 2022 when they purportedly held primaries for the National Assembly election.

“We also proved and the tribunal agreed with us that there were no primaries, there was no sponsorship, and the Labour Party did not conduct any primary into the NASS.”

The Star