The Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu has upheld the election of the Speaker of Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, as member representing Izzi West State Constituency.

Nwifuru was the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the said election.

The Speaker’s opponent in the House of Assembly election held on the April 11, 2015, Mr. Godwin Nwankpuma of the Labour Party, had approached the National and State House of Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal to unseat Nwifuru on the claims that the election in Izzi West State Constituency was marred by irregularities.

The tribunal, in its ruling delivered on October 26, dismissed Nwankpuma’s petition for lack of merit.

Dissatisfied with the outcome at the tribunal, the Labour Party candidate rushed to the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, but his quest ended in a fiasco as the appellate court equally dismissed his appeal.

In a unanimous judgment delivered yesterday by Hon. Justice Bolaji Yusuf, the court affirmed the judgment of the election tribunal.