Tribunal sacks LP Reps for failing to register as party member before primary, returns PDP Elumelu elected

The National Assembly election petition tribunal sitting in Asaba, Delta state, has sacked Labour Party’s Ngozi Okolie, nullifying the declaration of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Ndudi Elumelu as the duly elected member of the House of Representatives representing Anioha-Oshimili federal constituency.

In a ruling delivered on Monday, the tribunal held that Mr Okolie did not validly contest the election as she was not duly sponsored by the Labour Party, marking one of the first disputes arising from the February 25 federal elections to be resolved in favour of the petitioners.

The tribunal agreed with Mr Elumelu, who had previously served as minority leader in the 9th House, that Mr Okolie was not a member of the Labour Party as of May 28, 2022, when the party’s primary was held and could not have legally contested the election according to electoral guidelines.

Mr Okolie was part of the group of political office seekers who hopped on the sudden popularity of the Labour Party when its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, defected from the PDP in the twilight of the pre-campaign season and emerged as the party’s flag bearer with astonishing popularity among the electorates.

The party saw a rapid increase in the registration of new members and in the purchase of its nnomination forms, causing state and constituency chapters of the parties which previously dwelt in relative obscurity to become frontline contenders in various levels of the election.

The ruling, which would most likely be contested at the Court of Appeal, provides insights into the outcomes which are possible in the ongoing litigation of disputes relating to the February 25 presidential and national assembly elections.

President Bola Tinubu’s lawyers have questioned the validity of Mr Obi’s candidacy before the presidential election petition court sitting in Abuja. As part of his defence in the petition brought against him by the Labour Party candidate, Mr Tinubu’s witness, Opeyemi Bamidele, told the court that Mr Obi remained a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State until May 25, 2022, 25 days after the Labour Party had submitted its members register to INEC.

Although the Appeal Court in a February ruling dismissed a suit that questioned the validity of Mr Obi’s membership of the Labour Party and by extension his candidacy as flag-bearer of the party, the appellate court did not actually delve into the merits of the matter but rather ruled on the fact that the matter was a party affair and the plaintiffs were not members of the Labour Party, leading to their inability to demonstrate how they were affected by the party’s decision to field Mr Obi in the election.

Mr Elumelu’s contest in the election perhaps have established for him a locus standi- the legal right to challenge the candidacy of his opponent.

The tribunal ruling, if taken to appeal, will either be upturned in line with the court’s February ruling or will force the court to review its own stand on the issue. Should the courts agree that candidates in an election have the locus standi to challenge the candidacy of their opponents, the PEPT will be facing a rather unexpected conclusion as regards Labour Party and Mr Obi’s petition against Mr Tinubu’s victory.