BREAKING: Abia Assembly Speaker swears in PDP lawmaker nine months after court’s judgment

Hon. Aaron Uzodike was on Tuesday, August 13, sworn in as a member of the 8th Abia State House of Assembly after a nine-month legal battle.

The legal dispute began when an Appeal Court in Lagos disqualified the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Destiny Nwagwu, and declared Uzodike the rightful winner of the 2023 State House of Assembly election.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker representing Aba North State Constituency, had initially contested the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declaration of Nwagwu as the winner at the Election Petition Tribunal in Umuahia.

Dissatisfied with the tribunal’s ruling, Uzodike’s legal team took the case to the Appeal Court.

In October 2023, the Appeal Court ruled in Uzodike’s favour, ordering his swearing-in as the Aba North State Constituency lawmaker.

However, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Emeruwa had postponed Uzodike’s swearing-in, citing an ongoing court matter related to the case.

Already, rumours are rife that the lawmaker may switch loyalty to the Labour Party now that he has been sworn-in.

Meanwhile, there hasn’t been any official statement from the state assembly on why they later swore in Uzodike.