The Supreme Court on Friday declared Margaret Chuba-Okadigbo, widow of former Senate President, Chuba Okadigbo, as the duly elected senator for Anambra North
Mrs Okadigbo had been locked in a three-way battle with Alphonsus Igbeke and John Emeka over who of the trio should occupy the seat, won by the Peoples Democratic Party in the April 2011 election.
None of the trio had occupied the seat since.
Her late husband was elected to the seat in 1999 and went on to become Senate president.
The senatorial district had not had any form of representation at the upper legislative arm of the National Assembly owing to the series of controversies that trailed the conduct of primary election for the selection of the PDP’s candidate by various factions of the highly fractured party in the state.
The Supreme Court panel led by Justice Chukwuma Eneh held that Mrs Okadigbo emerged winner of the primaries conducted by the legally recorgnised faction of the party.
The court also held that the appellant, Mr Emeka who brought the suit before it does not have the locus to have instituted the appeal challenging the Court of Appeal’s decision which returned Mrs Okadigbo since he did not participate in the primary.
However the court decline to order for the swearing of Mrs Okadigbo on the grounds that it was not part of the reliefs sought by Mrs Okadigbo.
The apex court advised Mrs Okadigbo’s lawyers to file further processes to obtain such an order.
