Appeal Court Sacks Minister Designate as Reps Member

Pat Stevens/

The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal today sacked Emeka Nwajiuba as a member representing Ehimembano/Ihiteuboma/Obowo Federal Constituency of Imo State at the House of Representatives.

Nwajiuba, who was nominated by President Muhammadu Buhari as a minister designate, was set to resign as a member of the House of Representatives before his sack by the court.

A three-man panel of the Court of Appeal which ordered his sack also directed that he be replaced by Chike Okafor of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

It accordingly ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the Certificate of Return it issued to Nwajiuba and issue same to Okafor.

In its unanimous judgment, the Court of Appeal upheld Okafor’s appeal and set aside the April 29, 2019 order made by Justice Bello Kawau of the Kubwa Division of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory which had ordered the certificate to be issued to Nwajiuba.

The three-man panel comprising Justices Adamu Jauro, Stephen Adah and Tinuade Akomolafe-Wilson held that the appeal was meritorious.

Okafor and his party had in separate appeals challenged the decision of the trial court which had barred INEC, from accepting or listing the candidate of the APC in the rescheduled National Assembly election.

Justice Jauro who delivered the lead judgment of the Court of Appeal held that “in the final analysis, I find that the lower court has jurisdiction to have revisited its ruling which bordered on the fundamental rights of the appellant. Consequently, the appeal is meritorious and is hereby allowed only on reliefs 1 and 2.”

“The appeal is meritorious and is hereby allowed on relief 1. Consequently, the order of the trial court on April 29, 2019, is hereby set aside,” he added.

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