The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal on Wednesday sacked Emeka Nwajuba as member representing Ehimembano/Ihiteuboma/Obowo Federal Constituency of Imo State at the House of Representatives.
Nwajuba was set to resign as a member of the House of Representatives following his nomination by President Muhammadu Buhari as a minister designate.
The 43 ministers designate including Nwajuba are due for inauguration on August 21.
A three-man panel of the Court of Appeal which ordered his removal from the House of Representatives ordered that he be replaced by Chike Okafor of the All Progressives Congress.
The panel also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to issue Certificate of Return to Okafor.
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In its unanimous judgment, the Court of Appeal upheld Okafor’s appeal, setting aside the April 29, 2019 order made by Justice Bello Kawau of the Kubwa Division of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory which had ordered the certificate to be issued to Nwajuba.
The panel comprising Justices Adamu Jauro, Stephen Adah and Tinuade Akomolafe-Wilson held that the appeal was meritorious.
Okafor and his party had in separate appeals challenged the decision of the trial court which barred INEC from accepting or listing the candidate of the APC in the rescheduled National Assembly election.
Justice Jauro, who delivered the lead judgment, said, “In the final analysis, I find that the lower court has jurisdiction to have revisited its ruling which bordered on the fundamental rights of the appellant. Consequently, the appeal is meritorious and is hereby allowed only on reliefs 1 and 2.” [PUNCH]
