The Lagos division of the Appeal Court has upheld the election of Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere to the House of Representatives for Imo State’s Ideato North and South Federal Constituency.
The Appeal Court bench, led by Justice Abubakar Babandi Gumel, overturned the Tribunal’s decision to dismiss Ugochinyere.
Because there were no primaries in the Federal Constituency, the election petition tribunal sitting in Mararaba High Court determined that Ugochinyere’s PDP was not a candidate for the election.
The panel, which issued its decision on September 10th, also asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to hold rerun elections between APC and LP candidates in four wards.
Gumel’s unanimous decision on Wednesday, however, overruled the tribunal’s decision.
Gumel determined that the petition was a pre-election matter, and that the tribunals lacked jurisdiction over such matters.
