Nigerian Court Of Appeal Affirms Election Of Senator Tony Nwoye, Dismisses Stella Oduah’s Appeal

The Court of Appeal in Lagos has dismissed the appeal filed by Stella Oduah, challenging the victory of Labour Party’s Tony Nwoye in the February 25, 2023 Anambra North Senatorial District election.

The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in Awka, Anambra State, in its judgment given on September 6 dismissed Oduah and the Peoples Democratic Party’s petitions challenging the victory of Nwoye and the Labour Party. The tribunal dismissed the petitions for a lack of merit.

Not satisfied with the ruling of the tribunal, Oduah and the PDP filed appeals marked CA/AW/EP/SEN/AN/03/2023 and CA/AW/EP/SEN/AN/04/2023 as the Court of Appeal.

According to the Independent National Electoral Commission, Nwoye secured 94,779 votes while Oduah had 50,146 votes.

Oduah, a former aviation minister, represented Anambra North for eight years.

However, the Appeal Court resolved the issue of nomination against Oduah. It noted that the nomination of candidates is a domestic affair of a political party and not justiciable.

It also described the nomination as a pre-election matter, adding that Oduah had no locus to challenge the membership of the Labour Party.

It said only an aspirant in the primary election can challenge such issues.

In October, the Appeal Court sitting in Lagos reserved judgment in the appeals filed by Oduah and the PDP.

 The three-member panel of justices adjourned for judgment after taking arguments from counsel for the parties.