Justice Okon Abang of a Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, ordered two House of Representatives members from Enugu State to vacate their seats.
The affected lawmakers are: Hon. Stella Ngwu from Igbo-Etiti/Uzo-Uwani Federal Constituency and Hon. Dennis Nnmachi Agbo from Igbo-Eze North/Udenu Federal Constituency.
Delivering his judgment on the pre-election matter which emanated from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primary election held in December 2014, Justice Abang held that the emergence of Hon. Ngwu and Hon. Agbo was unlawful.
Justice Abang ordered the sacked legislators to refund to the coffers of the National Assembly of Nigeria forthwith all monies they collected by way of salaries, allowances since they took the seats in the House.
The court declared Dr. Gabriel A Okafor as the rightful winner of Igbo-Eze North/Udenu Federal Constituency seat election, while Hon. Chijioke H. Ugwu won the Egbo-Eze North/Udenu Federal Constituency, Enugu State 2015.
The PDP and its National Working Committee (NWC), the 1st and 2nd defendants, while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is the 3rd defendant and Ngwu and Agbo are 4th defendants in the two separate suits.
The court declared that the PDP and its National Working Committe had no right nor authority to use any delegate list for the election for its candidate for Igbo-Etiti/Uzo-Uwani and Igbo-Eze North/Udenu Federal Constituencies, respectively, other than the list of delegates that emerged in its congresses held on November 1, 2014.
“It is hereby declared that the 4th defendant did not emerge as winner from the primary election conducted for the purpose of electing the House of Representatives’ candidate of the 1st defendant for Igbo-Etiti/Uzo-Uwani Federal Constituency for 2015 general election since the primary election that purportedly produced her as winner was not conducted based on the list of delegates that emerged from ward congresses of the 1st defendant held on 1st November, 2014.
“It is hereby declared that the plaintiff, Dr. Gabriel .A. Okafor won PDP’s party primary election on 6th December,2014 for Igbo-Etiti/Uzo-Uwani Federal Constituency election into the House of Representatives.”
Justice Abang also held that, “It is hereby declared that the 4th defendant did not emerge as a winner from the primary election conducted for the purpose of electing the House of Representatives’ candidate of the 1st defendant for Igbo-Eze North/Udenu Federal Constituency for 2015 general election since the primary election that purportedly produced her as winner was not conducted based on the list of delegates that emerged from ward congresses of the 1st defendant held on 1st November, 2014.”
Abang further ordered INEC to immediately issue certificate of return to Dr. Gabriel Okafor and Hon. Chijioke Ugwu and awarded the sum of N100, 000 as cost against the defendants in favour of the plaintiff.