Appeal Court Overturns Tribunal’s Decision, Validates Cyriacus Sunday Umeha’s Election

The Court of Appeal in Lagos, Nigeria, has upheld the election of Cyriacus Sunday Umeha, who represents the Ezeagu/Udi Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.

This decision set aside the earlier ruling of the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal in Enugu, which had nullified Umeha’s victory.

The appellate court determined that the lower court made a legal error in concluding that Umeha had not resigned from his former political party, the PDP (People’s Democratic Party).

The court clarified that issues related to the nomination and sponsorship of candidates are pre-election matters.

Previously, a tribunal led by Justice A.M. Abubakar had declared Festus Uzor of the PDP as the winner of the February 25 election.

However, the Labour Party and its candidate, Umeha, appealed the decision at the Court of Appeal, which ultimately ruled in Umeha’s favour.

The Court of Appeal emphasised that Umeha had properly resigned from the PDP before running for office as a Labour Party candidate.

As a result, it found that Festus Uzor’s petition at the trial level lacked merit and should have been dismissed.

Source: Daily Post