Appeal Court Sacks All 3 PDP Senators & 12 Rep Members In Rivers State

The riggers are being sent parking.
It was a tsunami of sort for the PDP in
Rivers State on Friday as Abuja division
of the Court of Appeal in a judgment
delivered late into the night sacked Two
senators and Seven House of Reps
members elected on the platform of the
party in the 2015 general elections.
The Court had earlier kicked off the
series of judgments, 14 in all,
including some cross appeals on
Friday afternoon with the sack of
two senators – Osinakachukwu
Idoezu (Rivers South-West Senatorial
District) and John Olaka-Nwogo
(Rivers South-East) based on
petitions by APC candidates.
In the unanimous decision of the
three man panel read by Justice Ali
Gumel, the Appellate Court voided
the elections of the two senators
based on what the Justices described
as:
“Failure of INEC to comply
substantially with the provisions of
the Electoral Act and other guidelines
for 2015 National Assembly Election
in the conduct of the polls.”
Justice Gumel noted that key
elements of the voting process like
accreditation of voters, use of card
reader machines, voters’ register and
other election guidelines in majority
of the voting centres, were not
adhered to, an action which he said
led to manipulations of the process.
He therefore ruled that the elections
were conducted without adherence
to set guidelines and therefore
cannot stand in the face of the law.

The Judge particularly censored INEC
for what it described as its failure to
ensure strict adherence to the
guidelines it set out for the election
such as use of card reader.
In a series of abridged rulings for
lack of time to read the full
judgments, the Justices also annulled
the election of Boma Goodhead, the
member representing Asari Toru/
Akuku Toru Federal Constituency,
Hon. Ken Chikere (PDP) Port
Harcourt I Federal constituency
election, Randolf Brown for Bonny/
Degema Federal Constituency, Dum
Deekor of Tai/Eleme/Oyigbo Federal
Constituency, Betty Apiafi Ahoada
East/Abua Federal Constituency,
Awaji Inombek Abiante of Andoni/
Opobo/Nkoro federal constituency
and Dimnamene Deekor of Khana/
Gokhana federal constituency.
The court had earlier sacked a
Senator and some Reps members on
Thursday.
With the sack of his 12 colleagues,
Uche Nnam Obi of Ahoada West//
Egbeama/Ndoni Federal Constituency
elected on the platform of PDP is the
only surviving representatives of
Rivers State in the House of Reps.
The court ordered rerun elections
into the now vacant senatorial and
House of Reps seats with 60 days.