Court sacks LP lawmaker, declares Elumelu winner
The National Assembly Electoral Petitions Tribunal in Delta State has dismissed a member of the House of Representatives, Ngozi Okolie.
The lawmaker, who represents the federal constituency of Aniocha/Oshimili on the Labor Party (LP) platform, was sacked on Monday by the panel sitting in Asaba, the state capital.
Mr. Okolie created an upset against former House Minority Leader Ndudi Elumelu in the February 25 National Assembly elections.
He obtained 53,879 votes against 33,466 obtained by Mr. Elumelu of the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP).
However, Mr. Elumelu, in a motion filed before the panel with case number EPT/DL/HR/06/2023, argued that Mr. Okolie's appointment did not comply with relevant election laws.
He said the LP failed to properly sponsor Mr. Okolie because, at the time of the primary election that produced him as a candidate, he (Okolie) was not a member of the party.
The three-member panel, led by A.Z. Mussa, in his decision, agreed with Mr. Elumelu and disqualified the defendant.
The court also ruled that Mr. Elumelu should be re-elected as the elected constituency representative.
Pandora's box
While the case is expected to go to the Court of Appeal, it has the potential to open Pandora's box for politicians elected on the LP's platform.
LP was a fringe party before Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, joined it and later became its presidential candidate in 2022.
Mr. Obi's popularity has led to the massive defection of politicians to the party, and several candidates for the National Assembly have taken advantage of his popularity to win their elections.
Many of them are facing questions about their party membership under Article 77(2 and 3) of the Election Law.
"Each registered political party shall keep a register of its members in paper and electronic form", stipulates Article 77(2).
READ ALSO: Elumelu loses seat to LP candidate to DeltaSection 77(3) states that "Each political party shall make such register available to the Commission not later than 30 days before the date fixed for the primaries, convention or convention of the party."
It appears that many candidates who ran on the party platform across the country did not meet the requirement.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) attorney in the Presidential Elections Tribunal had also rejected Mr. Obi's nomination based on the Election Law Article.
Lawyers had argued that presidential candidate LP could not challenge the result of the presidential election because he had not been duly nominated in accordance with electoral law.
Mr. Obi was president...
The National Assembly Electoral Petitions Tribunal in Delta State has dismissed a member of the House of Representatives, Ngozi Okolie.
The lawmaker, who represents the federal constituency of Aniocha/Oshimili on the Labor Party (LP) platform, was sacked on Monday by the panel sitting in Asaba, the state capital.
Mr. Okolie created an upset against former House Minority Leader Ndudi Elumelu in the February 25 National Assembly elections.
He obtained 53,879 votes against 33,466 obtained by Mr. Elumelu of the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP).
However, Mr. Elumelu, in a motion filed before the panel with case number EPT/DL/HR/06/2023, argued that Mr. Okolie's appointment did not comply with relevant election laws.
He said the LP failed to properly sponsor Mr. Okolie because, at the time of the primary election that produced him as a candidate, he (Okolie) was not a member of the party.
The three-member panel, led by A.Z. Mussa, in his decision, agreed with Mr. Elumelu and disqualified the defendant.
The court also ruled that Mr. Elumelu should be re-elected as the elected constituency representative.
Pandora's box
While the case is expected to go to the Court of Appeal, it has the potential to open Pandora's box for politicians elected on the LP's platform.
LP was a fringe party before Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, joined it and later became its presidential candidate in 2022.
Mr. Obi's popularity has led to the massive defection of politicians to the party, and several candidates for the National Assembly have taken advantage of his popularity to win their elections.
Many of them are facing questions about their party membership under Article 77(2 and 3) of the Election Law.
"Each registered political party shall keep a register of its members in paper and electronic form", stipulates Article 77(2).
READ ALSO: Elumelu loses seat to LP candidate to DeltaSection 77(3) states that "Each political party shall make such register available to the Commission not later than 30 days before the date fixed for the primaries, convention or convention of the party."
It appears that many candidates who ran on the party platform across the country did not meet the requirement.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) attorney in the Presidential Elections Tribunal had also rejected Mr. Obi's nomination based on the Election Law Article.
Lawyers had argued that presidential candidate LP could not challenge the result of the presidential election because he had not been duly nominated in accordance with electoral law.
Mr. Obi was president...
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