The Appeal Court sitting in Lagos, on Friday, upheld the election of Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru as the duly elected governor of Ebonyi State in the March 18 governorship election.
The three-member panel of Justices led by Justice Jummai Hannatu Sankey in a unanimous judgment dismissed the appeal filed by Chukwuma Ifeanyi Odii of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for lacking in merit.
The panel resolved all the five issues raised by the PDP candidate in Nwifuru’s favour.
Justice Sankey, who read the lead judgement, held that the PDP and its candidate lacked the legal right to meddle into the internal affairs of the APC as it relates to the nomination of candidates for election.
Nwifuru, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), had polled 199,131 votes to defeat Ifeanyi Odii of the PDP, who secured 80,191 votes.
Bernard Odoh, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), came a distant third with 52,189 votes in the March 18 governorship election.
