Appeal Court Overturns PDP Rep’s Victory, Reinstates Labour Party’s Agbo in Enugu

In a major political development, the Court of Appeal in Enugu delivered a decisive ruling on Wednesday, upholding the decision of the House of Representatives Election Tribunal to nullify the election of Hon. Simon Atigwe, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) representative for the Igboeze North/Udenu Federal Constituency. The court reinstated Hon. Dennis Nnamdi Agbo of the Labour Party (LP), marking a significant victory for the LP candidate.

This legal battle traces its roots back to the February 25, 2023 National Assembly election, where Dennis Agbo initially emerged as the winner. However, a re-run election held on February 3, 2024, resulted in Atigwe being declared victorious, leading to his swearing-in. Agbo, undeterred, filed a petition against this result, challenging the legitimacy of the process and claiming irregularities.

The Appeal Court’s decision marked a turning point in Agbo’s legal pursuit. The court found that Simon Atigwe had not been duly elected based on valid votes cast in the re-run. In overturning the previous ruling, the court reinstated Agbo as the rightful representative, noting that significant errors had occurred in the vote tallying.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had initially declared that Atigwe secured 23,863 votes, narrowly defeating Agbo, who was credited with 23,226 votes. However, Agbo disputed these figures, citing issues such as incorrect vote computations and violations of the electoral act, which he argued marred the credibility of the election.

Upon review, the Appeal Court ruled in Agbo’s favor, determining that over 2,000 votes had been erroneously attributed to Atigwe. This adjustment revealed that Agbo had actually secured 28,870 votes, far surpassing Atigwe’s 14,229 votes from the initial election on February 25, 2023.

Justice H.N. Kunaza, who headed the tribunal, declared the re-run results void and invalid. The ruling restored Agbo’s victory, confirming that he was the rightful winner with a margin of over 2,000 votes. The court also ordered INEC to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Atigwe and reissue it to Agbo.

This ruling represents a significant victory for the Labour Party in Enugu State, as well as a landmark decision in Nigeria’s ongoing electoral reform efforts.