Court of Appeal affirms Rep Etteh’s election

Okpolupm Etteh of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was recognized as the representative of the Eket/ONNA/Esit Eket/Ibeno Federal Constituency of Akwa Ibom State by the Court of Appeal, which was located in Lagos. Eseme Eyiboh of the All Progressives Congress (APC) filed the challenge, but it was dismissed for “lack of merit.”

Judge Jummai Hannatu C. Sankey led the panel that rendered the decision on Thursday.

In the decision, the chief judge stated, “We all agreed to rely on the comprehensive decision of the Justice Kudirat Jose-led Tribunal, which had confirmed Hon. Etteh, the victor of the February 25, 2023, House of Representatives election for the Eket/ONNA/Esit Eket/Ibeno Federal Constituency, as announced by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), with 33,001 votes against Eyiboh (16,909 votes)”.
The court ruled that Eyiboh, who claimed that Etteh’s certifications were faked based only on conjecture, must give N300,000 to each of the respondents.

Recall that Eyiboh had petitioned the Tribunal to void Etteh’s eligibility and declare him the election winner on the grounds that Etteh, the PDP candidate, had falsified his certificate, making him ineligible to run for office.