From Godwin Tsa, Abuja and Paul Osuyi, Asaba
Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly, Sheriff Oborevwori has expressed gratitude to God following his reinstatement as governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in next year’s election by the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
Oborevwori, who was sacked as the party’s candidate by an Abuja High Court over discrepancies in his certificates approached the Court of Appeal which upturned the judgement of the lower court.
Speaking at an emergency thanksgiving service in Asaba, Oborevwori said the victory was for the entire state, noting that nobody can upturn what God had ordained.
“By the grace of God, in 2023, we shall come here again to give thanks to God. We have come here to give thanks to God for giving us victory.
“The victory is for everybody; it is God that gives power and nobody can upturn what God had ordained,” he stated.
PDP in the state said the judgment was well deserved .
In a statement by the party’s publicity secretary, Ifeanyi Osuoza said Oborevwori has been re-confirmed as the governorship candidate for 2023.
Osuoza appealed to David Edevbie and his camp “to see this victory as a solid and unshakable platform to come together as one united family and join hands with his brother Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori in the formidable PDP campaign train that will be put in place now that the issue of our governorship candidate has been resolved.”
Reacting to the judgement, the Head of Strategic Communications of David Edevbie Campaign Organization, Fred Edoreh, said the judgment was still being studied by his principal’s team of lawyers who would advise on what step to take next.
In a unanimous judgment, yesterday, the Abuja division of the Court of Appeal had set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court which had nullify his candidacy.
The trial court per Justice Taiwo Taiwo (retd) had in the vacated judgment directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Mr. Edevbie as the valid candidate of the PDP for the 2023 governorship election.
But a three -member panel of the appellate court led by justice Olabisi Ige, upturned the decision on the grounds that the high court wrongly relied on originating summons Edevbie brought before it to disqualify Oborevwori on the premise that he tendered forged certificates to INEC.
In addition, justice Ige noted that allegations Edevbie’s raised against Oborevwori “were deeply rooted and founded in criminality”.
The intermediate court stressed that in view of contentious nature of the allegations, they ought to have been proved beyond reasonable doubt at the trial court.
Justice Ige held that the trial court erred when he granted all the reliefs Edevbie sought in his suit, without recourse to evidence of witnesses that would have included institutions that awarded certificates to Oborevwori.