House Representatives member, Benjamin Kalu, who serves as Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, has praised the decision of the Court of Appeal to reject the case that the Action Alliance (AA) had submitted challenging his election.
His victory in the election held on February 25 for the Bende Federal constituency in the state of Abia was recognized by the court.
In a statement that was released on Friday in Abuja, Mr. Levinus Nwabughiogu, who serves as the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Deputy Speaker, said.
Before, in August, the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal, which was sitting in Umuahia and hearing the case, rejected the AA’s petition.
The decision was made because the candidate for the party, Ifeanyi Igbokwe, admitted that he had not filed any legal challenge against Kalu and raised worries about impersonation. This was the basis for the ruling.
After that, Igbokwe went to the police and the Department of State Service (DSS), where he complained about the impersonation and demanded that those responsible be apprehended and brought to justice.
An appeal was lodged by the AA as the security agencies continued their search for the individuals suspected of impersonating others.
Igbokwe declared during a news conference that he had never filed an appeal against Kalu and urged the police to catch those who were impersonating him. The news conference took place.
The appellate court’s decision to throw out the case because it was a “academic exercise” was a significant one, and it was handed down on October 19th.
In addition, the court stated that the time limit for the appeal that was stipulated under Section 285 of the Constitution had passed, and as a result, the court did not have the authority to continue hearing the case.
As a reaction to the victory, Kalu, speaking through Nwabughiogu, praised the judicial system for the extraordinary level of legal expertise it shown in its handling of the case.
He underlined his steadfast adherence to his duties while emphasizing that the ruling represented the completion of the legal problems that arose as a result of the general election that took place in 2023.
According to him, this would make him even more dedicated to helping the people of his Bende federal constituency and of Nigeria in general.
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