By Nosa Akenzua, Asaba
The Appeal Court in Asaba, the Delta State capital, has dismissed the appeal of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) of Nigeria against the Urhobo Peoples Integrity Organisation ( UPIO) on the restoration of the suppressed Sapele Constituency.
The National President of the group, Dr. (Olorogun) Ebenezer Okorodudu, traced the history of the case in a media interaction with newsmen shortly after the court judgement.
Okorodudu, a former commissioner in the state, disclosed that UPIO had a judgement from the Federal High Court at Warri against INEC on the restoration of the suppressed Sapele Constituency 11 in 2015 and that INEC was ordered to conduct elections in the said constituency alongside others in the general elections of 2015.
He alleged that INEC refused to obey the judgement, adding that in 2018 the group approached the said Federal High Court for write of mandamus, compelling INEC to conduct elections in the suppressed Sapele Constituency and that UPIO got a judgement on it against INEC in 2019.
Okorodudu averred further that INEC appealed against the court judgements of 2015 and 2019 at the Court of Appeal in Benin City, which was later moved to Asaba, following the establishment of an appeal court in the capita city of the state.
Okorodudu said that the court in Asaba not only dismissed the INEC’s appeal on the judgements of the Federal High Court of 2015 in March 2021, but had also thrown aside the appeal of the electoral body on Tuesday, June 22, 2021 against the judgement of 2019.
He vowed that UPIO would fight for the restoration of the suppressed Sapele Constituency 11 and other such suppressed constituencies in Urhobo Nation.
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