Onyema and other candidates were defeated at the Ogbaru Federal Constituency poll by the Labour Party’s Afam Ogene.
By Jeffrey Agbo
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed the appeal brought before it by the House of Representatives candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogbaru Federal Constituency, Anambra State, against the victory of the Labour Party candidate, Afam Ogene, whose victory had earlier been affirmed by the Election Petition Tribunal, in Awka, Anambra.
Ruling on Saturday, Justice M. I. Sirajo said that the appeal by Onyema lacked merit and therefore affirmed the earlier judgement of the tribunal, which was delivered on Friday, October 20, 2023.
Onyema was defeated at the polls by Ogene according to the results of the election released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on April 15, 2023, after a supplementary election in the constituency.
READ ALSO:
Victor Ogene affirmed winner of Ogbaru Federal Constituency, attributes victory to God, the people
INEC records indicated that the LP candidate scored 10,851 votes of the total votes cast, followed by the candidate of the PDP who polled 10,619 votes, while the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Arinze Awogu, came third with 10,155 votes.
The election in Ogbaru Federal Constituency was declared inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission, after the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections.
As a result, a rerun election was held in Ogbaru constituency on April 15, but unsatisfied with the result, Onyema, who had held three tenures of office, proceeded to the tribunal to challenge the victory of Ogene.