SAN FRANCISCO, October 24, (THEWILL) – With barely seven months to the end of the tenure of the 5th Delta State House of Assembly, the Supreme Court Friday in a unanimous ruling ordered Hon. Edoja Akpodiete, member representing Ughelli North Constituency II, to vacate the seat with immediately and within 90 days refund to the state coffers all salaries and allowances paid to him since 2011 when he wrongfully took the seat.
Akpodiete made it to the Assembly on the platform of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) but has since decamped to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The apex court ordered Mr. Jenkins Gwede to assume the seat ruling that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) wrongfully issued Akpodiete a certificate of return even when it was aware that the DPP had presented Gwede as its new candidate more than 45 days before the House of Assembly election conducted on April 26, 2011.
The lead judgment was read by Justice Walter Onnoghen.
Describing INEC’s action in the case as “worrisome” , the court awarded a total cost of N650,000 each against the commission and Akpodiete as it further affirmed the documents tendered by Gwede’s lawyer, Mr. Ikhide Ehighelua, showing that the DPP had notified INEC of its choice of Gwede as its candidate after Akpodiete formally withdrew from the election and the party returned the N2m he paid for nomination form back to him.
The justices also held that INEC had by its action “foisted on the electorate of Ughelli North Constituency II of Delta State House of Assembly a pretender to the seat who not only withdrew from the election in writing but collected the deposit he paid to the 4th respondent (DPP) for the said election.”
The apex court consequently ordered that, “The 1st respondent (INEC) is hereby ordered to issue the said appellant with a certificate of return in respect of the said House of Assembly election held on April 26, 2011.
“The 2nd respondent, Edoja Rufus Akpodiete, is hereby ordered to vacate the seat of Ugelli North Constituency II in the Delta State House of Assembly forthwith.
“It is further ordered that the said 2nd respondent, Edoja Rufus Akpodiete, refunds to the coffers of the Delta State House of Assembly all monies/sums of money he collected by way of salary, allowances whatsoever and however described since he took his seat in the said House of Assembly under the pretext of being the duly elected candidate of the 4th respondent representing Ughelli North Constituency II, within 90 days of this order,” the court ruled.
An earlier judgement of a Federal High Court sitting in Asaba, the state capital, on June 27, 2012, had dismissed Gwede’s case for lack of jurisdiction to entertain the matter because it was election related.
His lawyer, Mr. Ikhide Ehighelua, had appealed to the Court of Appeal in Benin which in its judgment delivered on May 22, 2013 had resolved the issues raised Gwede’s favour but refused to make any consequential order.
Gwede had also cross-appealed the judgment of the Court of Appeal, urging the apex court to make an order returning him as the duly elected candidate to represent Ughelli North Constituency II.
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