The National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Umuahia, the capital of Abia State, has sacked Amobi Ogah as the winner of the Isuikwuato/Umunneochi House of Representatives seat of Abia State.
Consequently, the tribunal has declared Nkiru Onyejeocha of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the rightful winner of the seat.
Nkiru Onyejeocha is currently serving as a minister under President Bola Tinubu administration.
The February 25 House of Representatives election had initially seen Ogah, the Labour Party candidate, declared the winner with 11,822 votes, while Onyejeocha secured 8,752 votes.
However, the tribunal’s ruling invalidated the results earlier declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In its decision delivered on Wednesday, the tribunal directed INEC to withdraw the certificate of return previously issued to Ogah and issue a new one to Nkiru Onyejeocha, the APC candidate.
Onyejeocha, a veteran politician, had previously served as the deputy whip in the 9th House of Representatives and had occupied the seat for 16 years, since 2007.
After Onyejeocha surprisingly lost the election to the Labour Party candidate, President Bola Tinubu subsequently appointed her into his cabinet as the Minister of State for Labour and Employment.
The tribunal’s decision has not raised questions about whether she would return to the House of Representatives if Oga should fail to appeal the decision or continue to hold her ministerial position.
