A Federal High Court in Abuja Division on Monday sacked two members of the House of Representatives from Enugu State for alleged wrongful emergence as ‘flag bearers’ of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2015 general elections.
The affected lawmakers are Honourable Stella Ngwu representing Igbo-Etiti/Uzo-Uwani Federal Constituency and Honourable Dennis Agbo representing Igbo-Eze North/Udenu Federal Constituency.
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Two other members of the party, Gabriel Okafor and Chijioke Ugwu, had approached the court after PDP conducted its primaries in December 2014, ahead of the 2015 general elections.
On Monday, the trial judge, Justice Okon Abang held that the emergence of Ngwu and Agbo as the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in December 2014 was unlawful.
He thereafter ordered the ‘sacked’ lawmakers to refund all monies they had collected by way of salaries and allowances since they took the seats in the House to the coffers of the National Assembly of Nigeria forthwith.
The court also declared Dr. Gabriel A. Okafor as the rightful winner of Igbo-Eze North/Udenu Federal Constituency primary election, while Honourable Chijioke H. Ugwu was ruled to have won the Egbo-Eze North/Udenu Federal Constituency of Enugu State in 2014.
Justice Abang ordered the INEC to immediately issue certificates of return to Messrs. Okafor and Ugwu respectively.
The affected lawmakers are Honourable Stella Ngwu representing Igbo-Etiti/Uzo-Uwani Federal Constituency and Honourable Dennis Agbo representing Igbo-Eze North/Udenu Federal Constituency.
Two other members of the party, Gabriel Okafor and Chijioke Ugwu, had approached the court after PDP conducted its primaries in December 2014, ahead of the 2015 general elections.
On Monday, the trial judge, Justice Okon Abang held that the emergence of Ngwu and Agbo as the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in December 2014 was unlawful.
He thereafter ordered the ‘sacked’ lawmakers to refund all monies they had collected by way of salaries and allowances since they took the seats in the House to the coffers of the National Assembly of Nigeria forthwith.
The court also declared Dr. Gabriel A. Okafor as the rightful winner of Igbo-Eze North/Udenu Federal Constituency primary election, while Honourable Chijioke H. Ugwu was ruled to have won the Egbo-Eze North/Udenu Federal Constituency of Enugu State in 2014.
Justice Abang ordered the INEC to immediately issue certificates of return to Messrs. Okafor and Ugwu respectively.