Appeal Court Affirms Ifeanyi Ubah As Senator-Elect

The Court of Appeal in Abuja, yesterday affirmed the election of Ifeanyi Ubah of the Young Progressive Party (YPP) as the senator representing Anambra South.
Justice Bello Kawu had on Jan. 17, nullified Ubah’s election on grounds that he allegedly used a forged National Examination Council, (NECO) certificate to contest the senatorial election held in Anambra South on Feb. 23, 2019.
Delivering ruling, the three-man panel led by Justice Stephen Adah, held that the lower court lacked the territorial jurisdiction to hear and determine a pre-election matter that arose from election that held in Anambra State.
“ The failure of the lower court to refuse the matter made the decision of the court void, “ the panel held.
The panel further held that the respondents erred for not serving the applicant with the originating process.
“ Justice must be done on the arms of the law, the decision of the lower court was bad because the originating summon before us was void and incompetent because it was not endorsed by a legal practitioner,” he held.
The respondents are Anani Chuka, YPP, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Dr Obinna Uzoh.