On November 6, 2023, the Court of Appeal made a significant decision by unseating Chijioke Okereke, the Labour Party representative for the Aninri/Awgu/Oji-River Federal Constituency.
Challenging an earlier ruling by the Enugu State National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal, Okereke’s appeal was dismissed during a judgment delivered on Monday. The Court asserted that the appeal, which contested the tribunal’s decision that Anayo Onwuegbu, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was the legitimate victor of the election, lacked any valid basis.
This legal outcome harks back to the earlier tribunal’s decision, which dethroned Okereke and validated Onwuegbu as the rightful winner of the February 25 poll. Onwuegbu had approached the tribunal, arguing that Okereke had no rightful claim to the election, as his name was not listed as the Labour Party candidate on the result sheet.
