Breaking:: Court of Appeal Upholds Victories of Delta Senators and House of Representatives Member
The Court of Appeal has confirmed the election victories of three Delta senators and a member of the House of Representatives. The senators are Prince Ned Nwoko, Joel-Onowakpo Thomas, and Ede Dafinone, representing Delta North, South, and Central senatorial districts, respectively, while Francis Waive represents the Udu/Ughelli North/South federal constituency.
In the judgement related to the February 25, 2023, Delta National Assembly elections, Justice Olubunmi Oyewole of the Courts of Appeal, Asaba Division, found in favor of the five issues of appeal filed by Joel-Onowakpo Thomas, overturning the previous tribunal’s decision.
The court also imposed a fine of N250,000 against Michael Diden (aka Ejele) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In another development, the Court of Appeal in Lagos upheld the tribunal’s verdict, confirming PDP’s Prince Ned Nwoko as the legitimate winner of the Delta North senatorial election. The appeals filed by Peter Nwaoboshi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Ken Kanma of the Labour Party (LP) were dismissed for lack of merit.
The National Assembly elections petitions tribunal in Delta State had previously ruled in September that Nwoko had convincingly won the February 25 election.
Additionally, the Court of Appeal in Lagos upheld Senator Dafinone’s election victory against PDP candidate Chief Igboyota Amori.
Furthermore, the court set aside the tribunal’s decision that nullified the election of Rev. Francis Waive, the member representing Udu/Ughelli North/South federal constituency. The PDP candidate, Solomon Awhinawhi, had challenged Waive’s qualification, claiming that his educational qualifications were not published by INEC as required by law. However, the appellate court upheld Waive’s appeal, stating that the non-publication of his qualifications by INEC was not a valid ground for disqualification. The court affirmed Waive’s victory at the polls and awarded costs of N500,000 against Awhinawhi, PDP, and INEC.
