Appeal Court overturns tribunal’s verdict, declares LP’s Okolie as winner of Delta Reps seat

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has set aside the judgement of the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Tribunal in Asaba, which declared Ndudi Elumelu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the February 25, 2023 election for Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency of Delta State. The appellate court, in two judgements delivered on Thursday, declared Ngozi Okolie of the Labour Party (LP) as the duly elected representative for the constituency.

The tribunal had earlier nullified Okolie’s election and upheld Elumelu’s petition, which challenged the validity of Okolie’s nomination and sponsorship by the LP. Elumelu had argued that Okolie was not a member of the LP as of May 28, 2022, when the party conducted its primary election. He also claimed that Okolie did not resign his appointment as a Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Delta State Government before contesting the election.

The appellate court, therefore, set aside the tribunal’s judgement and dismissed Elumelu’s petition for lacking merit. It also affirmed the declaration of Okolie by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner of the election.