Appeal Court Overturns PDP Victory, Declares Labour Party’s Agbo as Legitimate Enugu Rep

The Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu has upheld the removal of Hon. Simon Atigwe of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from his seat in the House of Representatives. The court declared Hon. Dennis Nnamdi Agbo of the Labour Party (LP) as the rightful winner of the February 3, 2024 re-run election for the Igbo-Eze North/Udenu Federal Constituency.

The judgment was delivered by a three-member panel led by Justice J.O Ekanem, who confirmed Agbo’s victory. The court’s decision follows an earlier ruling by the Election Petition Tribunal, which also favored Agbo.

Ifeanyi Ogenyi, one of the legal representatives for the Labour Party, expressed his satisfaction with the ruling in a statement shared on Wednesday. “Congratulations to the people of Igbo Eze North/Udenu Federal constituency. The wheel of justice turns slowly, but it grinds. Truth and justice have prevailed,” he wrote, celebrating Agbo’s triumph.

Initially, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Simon Atigwe the winner of the re-run election. However, Dennis Agbo, who had won the original election held on February 25, 2023, but was removed by the appellate court, took the case to the tribunal, contesting Atigwe’s declaration. Agbo secured a victory both at the tribunal and now at the Appeal Court, restoring his mandate.