Breaking! Appeal Court Nullifies Election Result, Declares Chima Obieze Winner in Enugu State House of Assembly


In a landmark ruling today, the Court of Appeal in Lagos has overturned the victory of Hon. Udefuna Chukwudi of the Labour Party as the representative for Ezeagu Constituency in the Enugu State House of Assembly. The court cited the failure of Chukwudi to meet constitutional requirements as the basis for this decision.

Rt. Hon. Chima Obieze from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) emerged victorious following his legal challenge against the validity of Chukwudi's nomination, his alleged non-qualification, and purported disregard for the 2022 electoral act.

Earlier, on September 28th, 2023, the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petitions sitting in Enugu state had upheld Chukwudi's victory, asserting that his election adhered to the electoral act and met the minimum requirements.

However, Obieze contested this decision, arguing that Justice Adie Attoe's panel ruling on Chukwudi's qualification contradicted the 1999 constitution and a previous Supreme Court judgment on a similar matter. Obieze asserted that Chukwudi lacked the minimum academic qualification stipulated by the constitution.

According to Section 318(1) of the constitution, a "school certificate or its equivalent" includes a secondary school certificate, Grade II Teacher’s Certificate, city and guild’s certificate, education up to secondary school certificate level, primary six school leaving certificate or its equivalent, along with specific conditions such as service tenure and language proficiency.

Obieze emphasized that a Primary Six School Leaving Certificate alone does not meet the criteria, and any candidate relying on it must satisfy all conditions listed under section 318(1)(c).

Furthermore, Obieze drew attention to a Supreme Court precedent, Lado Anor vs. Masari Ors (2019), which clarified that additional conditions must be met for a candidate relying on a Primary Six School Leaving Certificate.

The Appeal Court, concurring with Obieze's arguments, declared that Chukwudi failed to demonstrate the minimum requirement of being able to read and write, thus invalidating his candidacy. The court directed the Independent National Electoral Commission to issue a certificate of return to Chima Obieze, recognizing him as the rightful winner of the March 18th election.

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