PDP, LP Biggest Losers ,Losers Go On Appeal
The National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunals across the country have upturned the election victories of 25 House of Representatives members and five senators.
While the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been the biggest beneficiary of the verdicts delivered by the various tribunals for the House of Representatives seats, the party has lost more senatorial seats than any other party so far.
But all those who lost their seats have hinted that they would appeal the judgments.
The ruling party has had its victories in Kogi East and Kogi Central senatorial districts upturned by the tribunal.
It has also had its election victories in Delta Central and Delta South senatorial districts upturned.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had its election victory in Plateau South nullified.
The tribunal also ordered supplementary elections in some polling units in Kogi East, Delta South and Delta Central senatorial districts.
At the time of this report, not less than 26 members of the House of Representatives have had their elections upturned by the tribunals, but one of them has been reversed by the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
The PDP has lost 12 members in the House and it is closely followed by the Labour Party (LP) with 10 members, while the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and the APC have lost three and one members.
Lawmakers that have been sacked so far include Umar Yusuf Datti (NNPP, Kano), Amobi Ogah (LP, Abia), Fred Agbedi (PDP, Bayelsa), Ngozi Okolie (LP, Delta, but the verdict has been upturned by the Appeal Court), Umar Yerima (NNPP, Kano) and Ikenga Ugochinyere (PDP, Imo).
Others are: Chijoke Okereke (LP, Enugu), Paul Nnamchi (LP, Enugu), Seyi Sowunmi (LP, Lagos), Aminu Chindo (PDP, Katsina), Ismail Dalha (PDP, Katsina), Peter Gyendeng (PDP, Plateau), Munachim Alozie (LP, Abia) and Ibe Osunwa (LP, Abia).
The rest are: Francis Waive (APC, Delta), Joshua Gana (PDP, Niger), Emeka Nnamani (LP, Abia), Jonathan Ukodhiko (PDP, Delta), Idris Dankawa (NNPP, Kano), Adamu Yakubu (PDP, Jigawa), Thaddeus Atta (LP, Lagos), Dachung Musa Bagos (PDP, Plateau), Beni Lar (PDP, Plateau), Sunday Umeha (LP, Enugu), Mohammed Jamilu (PDP, Katsina) and Iliyasu Abubakar (PDP, Katsina).
In nullifying the elections, the tribunals ordered rerun/supplementary elections in nine federal constituencies.
The APC is the biggest gainer in the nullification of the election victories with nine federal constituencies going to the ruling party.
The PDP, which initially got five constituencies, had the number reduced when the Appeal Court upturned the nullification of the LP candidate for Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency in Delta State, while the LP and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) got two and one seats.
The Nation findings revealed that not less than 16 of the members sacked by the Tribunal are either Chairmen or Vice Chairmen of the House standing committees constituted by the Speaker before the House went on break.
The tribunals have sacked the chairman and vice chairman of two committees (Science Research Institutions and Science and Technology).
They are: Beni Lar (PDP, Plateau) and Chijoke Okereke (LP, Enugu) for Science Research Institutions, as well as Dachung Musa Bagos (PDP, Plateau) and Jonathan Ukhodiko (PDP, Delta) for Science and Technology.
Other chairmen affected by the tribunals’ judgments are: Amobi Ogah (LP, Abia) for HIV, AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; Fred Agbedi (PDP, Bayelsa) for FCT Area Councils and Ancillary Matters; Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere (PDP, Imo) for Petroleum Downstream; Aminu Chindo (PDP, Katsina) for Interior and Francis Waive (APC, Delta) for Rules and Business.
The vice chairmen affected by the tribunal verdicts are: Sunday Umeha (LP, Enugu) for Justice; Idris Dankawu (NNPP, Kano) for Drugs and Narcotics; Ibe Osunwa (LP, Abia) for FCT Judiciary; Seyi Sowunmi (LP, Lagos) for Local Content; Joshua Gana (PDP, Niger) for Power; Adamu Yakubu (PDP, Jigawa) and Mohammed Jamilu (PDP, Katsina).
Also, the Supreme Court has invalidated the election of Nazifi Bello Yusuf (PDP, Katsina) in a pre-election matter.
It returned Salisu Yusuf Majigiri as the duly elected candidate of the party for the Mashi/Dutsi Federal Constituency of Katsina State.
The Supreme Court ruled that Yusuf’s petition against the nomination of Majigiri as the candidate of the PDP was filed out of time.
Nazifi Bello Yusuf was appointed by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas as the Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values.