The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured its commitment to respecting all court orders related to ongoing petitions at the Presidential Election Tribunal. This statement was made by INEC’s National Commissioner for Voter Education and Information, Barr. Festus Okoye, on Monday night in Abuja.

Okoye emphasized that INEC is aware of the petitions currently before the tribunal and the legal responses from all parties involved. He reiterated that INEC, as one of the respondents to the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, has formally responded to the case.

“INEC remains a law-abiding institution and will not engage in media discussions about matters that are sub judice and under the purview of the tribunal,” Okoye stated. He also noted that both the petitioners and respondents are represented by senior legal experts, who are familiar with the law and know the proper course of action if INEC is believed to be disobeying court orders.

In a related development, the Media Office of Halims Agoda has announced that the Court of Appeal has affirmed Hon. Halims Agoda as the validly nominated candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Ethiope Federal Constituency in Delta State in the recent general elections.

In a unanimous decision, the Benin division of the court ruled that the Federal High Court in Asaba was correct in declaring that Chief Solomon Edojah, whose name was submitted to INEC as the APC candidate, was not validly nominated. Justice Moore Asiemo Abraham Adumein, who delivered the lead judgment, dismissed Edojah’s appeal and imposed a N250,000 cost in favor of Agoda.

Edojah had challenged Agoda’s suit, claiming it was filed outside the required time frame. However, the lower court dismissed Edojah’s claim, and the Court of Appeal upheld the ruling, affirming that the dispute arose on October 18, 2018, when Agoda was denied participation in the general election by the APC.