Posted by Three Delta senators and one Delta House member had their victory upheld by the Court of Appeal.
Prince Ned Nwoko, Joel-Onowakpo Thomas, and Ede Dafinone are the Delta North, Delta South, and Delta Central senators, while Francis Waive is the federal representative for Udu/Ughelli North/South.
Justice Olubunmi Oyewole of the Courts of Appeal, Asaba Division, in his ruling on the election results for the Delta National Assembly on February 25, 2023, overturned the original tribunal’s decision on all five of Thomas’ appealed claims.
After a lengthy legal battle, the court ruled in favor of Michael Diden (aka Ejele), and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was fined N250,000.
Relatedly, the Lagos Court of Appeal upheld the tribunal’s decision, making PDP’s Prince Ned Nwoko the lawful senatorial candidate for Delta North.
Peter Nwaoboshi, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Ken Kanma, of the Labour Party (LP), both had their appeals from a court in Lagos, Nigeria, thrown out for being without merit.
Nwoko was declared the winner of the February 25 election by a large margin by the National Assembly elections petitions tribunal in Asaba, Delta State, back in September.
The election of Senator Dafinone, who ran against PDP candidate Chief Igboyota Amori, was also affirmed by the Court of Appeal in Lagos.
Similarly, in a challenge brought by PDP candidate Solomon Awhinawhi, the court on Wednesday reversed the tribunal ruling that had voided the election of Rev. Francis Waive, the member representing Udu/Ughelli North/South federal district.
Because the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not publicize Waive’s educational credentials, the lower court determined that he was unable to run in the 2023 general election.
Waive, an APC member, appealed the tribunal’s decision, claiming that he had provided all the required documentation to INEC, that the failure to publish his qualifications on the INEC portal was not his responsibility, and that this was not a legal basis for nullifying the election.
Waive’s appeal was affirmed in a unanimous decision by the appellate court, and the PDP’s cross-appeal filed by Solomon Awhinawhi was thrown out.
All of Waive’s motions were granted, and Awhinawhi, the PDP, and INEC were all ordered to pay N500,000 in costs.
Waive’s qualifications were not made public by INEC, but the court ruled that this did not disqualify him because there was insufficient evidence to suggest that he had fabricated or falsified any documents.
The court also validated Waive’s victory at the polls, finding that he got the largest number of valid votes cast in the constituency.