Date Published: 03/25/10

Appeal Court sacks Senator Emodi, affirms Ugbeke

Sacked Senator Emodi

The Court of Appeal, Enugu has ruled in favor of Chief Aphonsus Ugbeke of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, sacking Senator Joy Emodi of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.

The Court declared that Ugbeke won the 2007 Senatorial election for the Anambra North Senatorial District.

Emodi was the chairman Senate Committee on Education.

The Justice James Abiriyi five-man National Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Awka had upheld the election of Senator Joy Emodi representing Anambra North senatorial zone as it dismissed the three petitions brought by Chief Alphonsus Igbeke (ANPP), Hon. Celestine Ughanze (AC) and Mrs. Jessie Balonwu (LP) against the senator.

But the ANPP candidate specifically urged the tribunal to award him the results in five of the seven local government areas of the district where he claimed to have scored majority of votes cast and nullify the results from the two local government areas of Onitsha South and Ayamelum where the election allegedly did not hold due to alleged non-distribution of electoral materials. .But the tribunal disagreed, saying that from the evidence of the witnesses, election was held in all the seven local government areas of the senatorial zone and that election materials were duly distributed, from which results generated formed the basis on which Emodi was declared winner.

However, it took the intervention of the Court of Appeal, Enugu which upheld Ugbeke’s claims declaring him winner.