Tribunal Sacks Second LP Federal Lawmaker in 24 Hours, Declares New Winner in House of Reps Election

• Chijioke Okereke of the Labour Party has been removed as the House of Reps member for Aninri/Awgu/Oji River Federal Constituency
• Okereke is the second LP member to be sacked by the tribunal after Prof. Paul Sunday Nnamchi was replaced by Cornelius Nnaji, the candidate of the PDP
• The claims against Okereke were that his name was not published by INEC as the candidate of the LP and he was not on the result sheet as well

Enugu, Enugu state - The National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Enugu has sacked Chijioke Okereke of the Labour Party (LP).

Until his sack on Saturday, September 9, Okereke was a member of the House of Representatives representing Aninri/Awgu/Oji-River federal constituency.

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Enugu tribunal declares PDP’s candidate winner

With the tribunal's verdict, Okereke became the second LP House of Representatives chieftain to be sacked by the tribunal within 24 hours, The Guardian newspaper reported.

Recall on Friday, the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Enugu nullified the election of the member representing Enugu East/Isi-Uzo Federal Constituency, Prof. Paul Nnamchi. Nnamchi, a chieftain of the LP.

On Okereke, the three-man panel led by Justice Nusirat Umar declared Anayo Onwuegbu, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as the duly elected candidate of the February 25, 2023 poll.

Onwuegbu had approached the tribunal challenging Okereke's victory on the grounds that he was a “stranger” to the election as his name was not on the result sheet as the candidate of the LP.

According to The Nation newspaper, the panel held that Okereke wasn’t a candidate for the election and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue a certificate of return to the PDP candidate.

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Tribunal sacks APC lawmaker, declares Suswam winner

In a piece of related news, Legit.ng reported that the election petition tribunal sitting in Markudi on Friday, September 8, sacked Emmanuel Udende of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The tribunal declared Senator Gabriel Suswam of the PDP as the winner of the senatorial election for Benue North East Senatorial District.

Tribunal sacks Kogi senator

Legit.ng also reported that the Kogi East Senatorial Election Tribunal sacked Senator Jibrin Isah.

Senator Isah, the Senate Committee Chairman on Customs Excise and Tariffs, was sacked because votes were cancelled in some 94 polling units during the last election.

Source: Legit.ng