Court of Appeal removes Senate Minority Whip Nwokocha from office

Senator Darlington Nwokocha, who served as the Senate Minority Whip, has been unseated from the Senate by the Court of Appeal in Lagos. Representing Abia Central as a member of the Labour Party (LP), the court declared Col. Austin Akobundu (retd) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the rightful winner of the February 25 polls.

This ruling overturns the decision of the National Assembly election petition tribunal, which had initially upheld Nwokocha’s victory.

Furthermore, the Court of Appeal in Lagos also dismissed an appeal brought by Anthony Agbazuere, a PDP candidate, against Ginger Onwusibe, an LP member of the House of Representatives. The court upheld Onwusibe’s victory in the February 25 National Assembly election and supported the tribunal’s decision that Agbazuere’s case lacked merit.

Consequently, Ginger Onwusibe’s election as the representative for the Isiala Ngwa North/Isiala Ngwa South federal constituency was confirmed by the Court of Appeal.

The Abia chapter of the PDP, under the leadership of Allwell Asiforo, has congratulated its candidate, Austin Akobundu, on his victory in the Senate appeal case and expressed gratitude to the judiciary for its sound decision. Austin Akobundu, a former Minister of State for Defence, hails from Ikwuano LGA of Abia.