The Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu has upheld a ruling that removes Hon. Simon Atigwe, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) representative for Igboeze North/Udenu Federal Constituency. The court has reinstated Hon. Dennis Nnamdi Agbo of the Labour Party (LP) as the rightful winner of the February 25, 2023, National Assembly election.
Agbo was initially declared the winner of the election and sworn into office but was removed following a re-run election held on February 3, 2024. This rerun led to the declaration of PDP’s Atigwe as the victor, and he was subsequently sworn in as the new representative.
However, Agbo challenged this outcome by filing a petition at the election tribunal. He argued that the rerun was marked by significant irregularities, including improper result computations and non-compliance with the Electoral Act. His petition was supported by the Court of Appeal on Wednesday, which ruled that Atigwe was not validly elected by the votes cast in the rerun.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had previously announced that Atigwe secured 23,863 votes, defeating Agbo, who reportedly scored 23,226 votes in the February 2024 rerun. Agbo, however, contested these results, claiming irregularities in the electoral process.
The tribunal, led by Justice H.N. Kunaza, found merit in Agbo’s case, declaring that 2,000 votes had been unlawfully added to Atigwe’s total. In its ruling, the court restored the original results from the February 25, 2023, election, which showed Agbo receiving 28,870 votes, compared to Atigwe’s 14,229 votes.
As a result, the Appeal Court nullified Atigwe’s certificate of return and ordered that it be issued to Agbo. The judgment marks a significant victory for the Labour Party in the Igboeze North/Udenu Federal Constituency.
