ASABA/Nigeria: In a show of support for the recent ruling of the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, the Aniocha/Oshimili Peoples Mandate, a socio-political group comprising professionals and businessmen from the constituency, has commended the tribunal’s decision to declare Hon. Ndudi Elumelu as the rightful winner of the February 25 House of Representatives election in Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency in Delta State.
The tribunal, which sat in Asaba and delivered its judgment on Monday, July 25, 2023, upheld Elumelu, the immediate past Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, as the winner, while removing Okolie of the Labour Party from the position due to improper nomination by his party.
Chairman of the Aniocha/Oshimili Peoples Mandate, Chief Uzoma Okoh, along with Secretary, Pastor Michael Monye, and Director of Publicity, Comrade David Awil, issued a joint statement on Thursday expressing their satisfaction with the fairness of the tribunal’s ruling. They noted that the judgment was widely embraced by the majority of the people in the Federal Constituency and lauded it as a well-founded and intelligent application of jurisprudence.
In light of the ruling’s alignment with the Rule of Law, the non-partisan group called on Ngozi Lawrence Okolie to accept the verdict in good faith, viewing it as an act of God. They discouraged him from pursuing an appeal at the Appeal Court, emphasizing that time and resources should be directed towards the welfare and progress of the constituency instead.
The Aniocha/Oshimili Peoples Mandate further urged Hon. Okolie and Hon. Elumelu to set aside their party affiliations and work together for the betterment of the people. They commended Hon. Elumelu for extending a hand of fellowship to his opponent and stressed that the ultimate goal should be the welfare and advancement of the constituency as a whole.
