House of Representatives member Prof Paul Nnamchi, representing Enugu East/Isi-Uzo Federal Constituency in Enugu State, on the platform of Labour Party (LP) has thanked the justices of the Appeal Court for stopping the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate from trying to steal his mandate.
Nnamchi, in a press release issued by his special adviser Media/Publicity, Sam Nwanze, maintained that he defeated the PDP candidate with over 13,000 votes.
He was reacting to his victory at the Appeal Court. The appellate court ruled against the judgement of the three man National Assembly election tribunal which voided his election early September on the ground that he didn’t resign from his previous job in accordance with the law. The tribunal sat in Enugu State.
But, in a unanimous judgment decision in Lagos today, the three man Court of Appeal panel agreed with the appellant that the tribunal’s judgment was a miscarriage of justice and wrong interpretation of the law in respect of the matter.
The judges ruled that the trial tribunal erred in law when it nullified the election on the ground that Prof. Nnamchi failed to resign as a staff of the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) six months before the election.
The judges held that based on the evidence before the court, the appellant resigned his previous job three months before the election in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which is superior to the 1976 bylaws of the University.
The court therefore upheld the appeal as meritorious and voided the tribunal judgment.
According to him, Hon. Nnamchi who is expectedly joyful over the judgement in his reaction thanked God for the judgment and his lawyers for the job well done.
His words, “I thank the Almighty God for restoring the mandate given to me by the good people of my constituency. I defeated the opposition candidate of the PDP with over 13,000 votes and he thinks he could snatch my victory through the back door but the God I serve says no. I also thank the Justices of the Appeal Court who saw the merit of my case and restored my mandate back to me. This shows that court is the last hope of the oppressed.
“I want also to thank my family for standing by me during the period of anxiety, my lawyers for a good job and my teaming supporters both in Enugu and beyond for their support and prayers. God will reward all of you.
“Let me make it clear once again that my coming into politics is to serve my people with dedication and work for the well-being of the nation. And this is what I will devote my time, energy and intellect to achieve while in the National Assembly. It is now time to work”.
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