The long running battle over who should represent Anambra North in the senate has been put to rest, putting paid to the ambitions of Alphonsus Igbeke and John Emeka
The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal friday declared Margery Chuba-Okadigbo, widow of former Senate President, late Chuba Okadigbo, as the authentic candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and winner of the Anambra North Senatorial District in the April 16 National Assembly election.
The Court therefore ordered her inauguration into the Senate to occupy the Anambra North Senatorial seat that had been vacant in the past six months due to various legal actions over who was the PDP’s candidate for the seat.
A three-man panel of the appellate court in its judgment delivered by Justice M.U. Mukhtar unanimously held that Ms Okadigbo having polled the highest number of votes in the primary election conducted in the state remained the candidate and winner of the Anambra North Senatorial seat.
The appellate court agreed with all documents including the primary election result tendered by the PDP, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Ms Okadigbo which all indicated that she emerged victorious at the primary election conducted by Senator Joseph Waku Committee on behalf of PDP National Working Committee.
The court, while setting aside the lower court judgment, which favoured Senator Alphonsus Igbeke, said it was wrong of the federal high court to have based its decision solely on the documents submitted to it by Mr. Igbeke and closed its eyes to other documents of the other parties in the case especially the PDP, INEC and Ms Okadigbo.
Specifically, the court, after evaluating all documents relating to the case agreed that Ms Chuba-Okadigbo polled 168 votes, Senator Igbeke 23 votes, and Prince John Emeka 15 votes and therefore had no hesitation in declaring Chuba-Okadigbo as the properly nominated candidate of the PDP and as well as the winner of the election.
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