Ned Nwoko’s emergence as the senator representing Delta North Senatorial District has been annulled by the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division.
The court ruled on Thursday that the case instituted at the Federal High Court’s Abuja Division that resulted in Mr Nwoko being recognized as the Independent National Electoral Commission’s winner of the election was filed wrongly.
The court of appeal ruled that the case should have been brought before the lower court before the expiry of 14 days from the time the suit was birthed.
It further ruled that the applicant’s failure to file the case at the lower court before the expiry of 14 days meant that the case had become barred from status and that the lower court lacked first jurisdiction to entertain the case.
“The case was barred by statute as it was at the time the case was instituted at the Federal High Court. We set aside the Federal High Court’s decision and strike the case,” ruled the court.
INEC had withdrawn the certificate of return it issued to Mr Nwoko’s and had issued same to his contender Peter Nwaoboshi, following the FHC decision.
With the decision of the appeal court, Mr Nwaoboshi will now be recognized as the district’s senator-elect.
Both Messrs Nwoko and Nwaoboshi are PDP members and had contested in the primaries for the party ticket. The PDP subsequently won the district senatorial election with Mr. Nwaoboshi as their candidate.
INEC withdrew the certificate issued to Mr Nwaoboshi after the initial high court ruling and presented it to Mr Nwoko ; a ruling that would now be reversed on the basis of the ruling of the appeal court.
