By Austin Ogwuda.
The legal fireworks in the appeal filed before the Court of Appeal by theMember representing Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, Rt. Hon Ngozi Okolie will commence on Thursday, the 24th of August 2023, exactly a week from today, reports The Town Hall Media exclusively.
Representative Ngozi Okolie, had, on the 2nd of this month through his lawyer, Chike Onyemenam, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN filed a 9-Ground appeal, seeking to quash the judgment of the National Assembly/Legislative Houses Election Petition Tribunal led by Justice A. Z Mussa.
Justice Mussa-led Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Asaba had on the 24th of July 2023, nullified the election of Ngozi Okolie of the Labour Party as a Member representing the Aniocha/Oshimili Constituency at the House of Representatives.
The tribunal held that the Labour Party did not duly sponsor Okolie as he was not a party member as of May 28, 2022, when the primary was held and went ahead to declare Ndudi Elumelu, who was the first runner up, as the winner of the election thus allowing Ndudi Elumelu’s petition challenging the victory of the Labour Party to succeed.
In a sharp reaction shortly after the judgment, Ngozi Okolie, now the Appellant before the Court of Appeal said, ‘Ngozi Okolie is not the person on trial, but our democracy and judiciary is on trial.
Thank God there is an opening for appeal and afterwards God is the final Judge. I have briefed my Lawyers to do the needful.
“NOBODY will take the mandate of the Aniocha/Oshimili people from the back door. We shall overcome”, he stated confidently.Among the reliefs sought are:1.
“An order setting aside the judgment of the tribunal and in its place, an order dismissing the petition before the lower tribunal for failure of the petitioners (1st and 2nd Respondents herein) to make out a prima facie case on same and for consequently failing to establish the Grounds for presenting same and facts pleaded in support of the said Grounds as required by Law.2.
“An order restoring the Declaration and Return of the Appellant by INEC at the Polls as the Winner of the Election and duly elected Member of the House of Representatives for Aniocha Oshimili Federal Constituency having scored the majority of lawful votes cast at the Election”.
Ground 7 of the appeal stated that “the Chairman and Members of the Tribunal erred in Law by holding that the original INEC nomination Form EC9 tendered by Labour Party (2nd Respondent at the Tribunal) said to be uploaded to INEC electronically, which INEC admitted that it consequently received and published the name of the Appellant as the Labour Party candidate for the election (in September 2022) over six months before the election was inadmissible to prove that Labour Party forwarded the name of the Appellant as its candidate to INEC for the election because the Certified True Copy of the Uploaded INEC Form EC9 is what ought to have been tendered and proceeded to hold that Labour Party did not forward the name of the Appellant as its candidate to INEC for the election, hence Labour Party did not sponsor the Appellant and proceeded to hold that the Appellant was not qualified to contest the election thereby occasioning a gross miscarriage of justice on the Appellant”.
Ground 9 of the appeal stated that “the Judgment is against the weight of Evidence”.
Ngozi Okolie is the Appellant with Elumelu Ndudi Godwin, People’s Democratic Party PDP,Independent National Electoral Commission INEC and Labour Party, LP as Respondents.