The Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos has set aside the judgment of the Enugu State Election Petition Tribunal which nullified the election of Hon. Williams Amuka of Labour Party as lawmaker representing Igbo Etiti West in the state House of Assembly.
In a unanimous judgment, the three-man panel of Justices, delivered and presided over by Hon. Justice Bolaji Yusuf, found merit in the Appeal of Hon. Amuka and upheld his declaration by INEC as the eventual winner of the March 18 House of assembly election.
Reacting to the judgment in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja, Chibuzor Ezike Esq, the lead counsel to Hon Williams Amuka, thanked the Court of Appeal for doing substantial justice.
He said, “It was shocking and surprising that the Tribunal after resolving all the three grounds of objection raised by the Hon. Amuka’s legal team and held that it had no jurisdiction to entertain the petition by Ugwu Charles Chukwuebuka and PDP turned 180 degrees and relied on a document that was rejected, that was neither pleaded nor before the Court to disqualify our client. The decision of the Court of Appeal is commendable, and it has brought to an end the long journey of litigation which commenced right from when Hon. Amuka won his primary election”.
Meanwhile, as the judgment hit the town, there was spontaneous carnival-like celebration all over Igbo Etiti with motorcycle riders forming a convoy and riding all around the Local Government Headquarters of Ogbede, blaring their horns. Market women were also seen singing and dancing.
. TheWitness
