By GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE
WITH barely four months to the April general elections in the country, the Court of Appeal sitting in Benin City, Edo State, Wednesday, sacked the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, lawmaker, Samuel Saiki representing Akoko-Edo Constituency II in the Edo State House of Assembly.

The court also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Saiki. The  Commission was also ordered to conduct a re-run election to fill the vacant seat within 30 days.

The appellate court in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Chioma  Iheme, upheld the decision of the lower tribunal, which had earlier in its judgment ruled that INEC was wrong to have declared a winner in the 2007 general elections it had earlier cancelled.

The Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, candidate in the election, Oloruntoba Bamidele Simeon,  while reacting to the judgment told newsmen that he was prepared for the election and called  INEC to decide which voters’ register to use in the re-run election.

State Chairman of PDP, Dan Orbih said they would contest the re-run election but expressed reservation over the time frame of the ongoing registration of voters and conducting the primaries.