The Delta State Election Petition Tribunal has issued a verdict removing Senator Joel-Onowakpo Thomas, also known as JOT, from his position as the representative of the Delta South Senatorial District in the National Assembly.
The National and State Houses of Assembly Election Tribunal, which convened in Asaba, Delta State, has decreed a re-run election in the Warri South Local Government Area of the state, specifically for the Delta South Senatorial District.
In the 2023 National Assembly elections, Michael Diden, the Senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), known as Ejele, contested the victory of Senator Joel Onowakpo-Thomas (JOT), the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In their petition, marked EPT/DT/SEN/ 01/2023, Diden and the PDP requested that the tribunal nullify INEC’s declaration of the APC candidate, Joel-Onowakpo, asserting that he was not duly elected by the majority of lawful votes cast during the election.
A three-member panel led by Justice Cathrine Ogunsola, in its ruling, determined that the election that brought Joel-Onowakpo into office was inconclusive. Therefore, the tribunal has instructed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to organize a supplementary election in the Warri South council area of the Delta South senatorial district within a 90-day timeframe.
