Abia Assembly swears in PDP lawmaker nine months after Court’s Judgment
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker for Aba North State Constituency, Hon. Aaron Uzodike was on Tuesday, August 13, sworn in as a member of the 8th Abia State House of Assembly.
The swearing-in followed a nine-month legal battle that began when an Appeal Court in Lagos disqualified the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Destiny Nwagwu, and declared Uzodike the rightful winner of the 2023 State House of Assembly election.
Hon. Uzodike had initially contested the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declaration of Destiny Nwagwu as the winner at the Election Petition Tribunal in Umuahia.
Dissatisfied with the tribunal’s ruling, Uzodike’s legal team took the case to the Appeal Court.
In October 2023, the Appeal Court ruled in Uzodike’s favour, ordering his swearing-in as the Aba North State Constituency lawmaker.
However, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Emeruwa had postponed Uzodike’s swearing-in, citing an ongoing court matter related to the case.
Our correspondent reports that the PDP and various interest groups from Aba North State Constituency, the state and the country had in several fora called on both the governor and the Speaker of the State Assembly, Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Emeruwa, to swear in Uzodike who would be returning to the State Assembly for the second time in a row after he served as a member of the 7th Assembly.
The Nation had reported that the delay in the swear-in of the PDP lawmaker couldn’t have been unconnected with the quest of the Labour Party to maintain their hold on the structure of the State Assembly as they continue to push for majority seats in the assembly.
Our correspondent reports that the long-fought battle between the PDP, the LP, and the leadership of the 8th Assembly in the state came to an end on Tuesday as the Abia State Assembly Speaker sworn in Uzodike during their plenary.
Sources within the State House of Assembly and the PDP disclosed that there were high-level meetings between the leadership of the Assembly, the state government, and the lawmaker over the week, which suggests that the lawmaker may switch loyalty to the Labour Party now that he has been sworn-in.
Meanwhile, there hasn’t been any official statement from the state assembly on why they later swore in Uzodike, but PDP sources said that they were monitoring the situation of things and will react accordingly when the time comes.
