Imo North: Senate swears in APC’s Frank Ibezim
The Senate on Tuesday administered the oath of allegiance on Senator Frank Ibezim as the senator representing Imo North Senatorial District.
The Clerk of the Senate, Ibrahim El- Ladan administered the Oaths of Office and Allegiance on the new Senator.
President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan said with the swearing-in, Imo North Senatorial District is now fully represented.
Recall that the Imo North Senatorial seat became vacant following the death of the chairman, Senate Committee on Employment, Labour and Productivity, Senator Benjamin Uwajumogu, All Progressives Congress, APC, who died December 2019.
The Supreme Court on Friday set aside the disqualification of Sir Frank Ibezim as the authentic candidate of the APC for the Dec. 5, 2020, Imo North Senatorial election.
Also Read: Imo North by-election: Owerri High Court restrains INEC from recognising Ararume
Justice Emmanuel Agim while delivering a unanimous judgment held that the suit which led to Ibezim’s disqualification for allegedly supplying false information to secure nomination was statute-barred at the time it was instituted.
The suit was filed by Asomugha Elebeke, one of the aspirants, who had expressed interest to contest the party’s primary for the bye-election.
The apex court, therefore, voided, nullified, and set aside the concurrent judgments of the Abuja Federal High Court and Court of Appeal that nullified the candidacy of Ibezim on the grounds of perjury.
Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja had on March 18, ordered INEC to issue Ararume with the certificate of return.
The suit before the Supreme Court was that which sought to upturn the judgment of Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, and that of the Court of Appeal which both nullified Ibezim’s candidacy on the grounds that he made false declarations in the documents he submitted to INEC.
The two lower courts specifically held that Ibezim “bears two different and irreconcilable names” and presented three falsified West African Examination Council results for the same election.
Zainab Sa’id
