Senator Darlington Nwokocha, who represented Abia Central district, has lamented the judgement of the Court of Appeal that relieved him of his seat Senate seat.
Nwokocha, who was elected as a Senator in February on the platform of the Labour Party, LP, was on November 4, sacked by the Appeal Court which declared Col Austin Akobundu (Rtd) of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, as the rightful winner of the Abia Central contest.
Nwokocha was Senate Chief Whip until his sacking.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Nwokocha as the winner of the election with 92,116 votes, while Akobundu came second with 41,477 votes.
Dissatisfied with the result, Akobundu, a former Minister of State for Defence, filed a petition before the election petition tribunal to upturn Nwokocha’s election.
His appeal was, however, rejected by the tribunal in September.
Unfazed by the ruling, Akobundu, who was a former Organising Secretary of the PDP, went to the appellate court.
He was however declared the winner of the election in November.
But two months after his sack, Nwokocha is still hurt by his removal.
Speaking in a live radio interview on Family Love 99.9 FM Umuahia, Nwokocha said he was still surprised that the Appeal Court removed him from office, despite his wide acceptance and popularity among the people of Abia Central.
He also expressed surprise that the Appeal Court refused to reverse itself on his case despite the “evidences” he presented to the judges.
According to him, the legal points used by the Appeal Court in sacking him were “inconsistent with legal proceedings” and should not have been used.
“I am still surprised that somebody can make such a judgement. I am still surprised till now”, Nwokocha lamented.
He further explained that his hope of being reinstated by the Supreme Court was rejected by the apex Court on the grounds that his matter should end in Appeal Court.
Nwokocha, who was recently received by his people, said he has left everything to God.
The former Senator equally commended the political rapport existing between Governor Alex Otti and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Benjamin Kalu, saying that the LP and the APC bigwigs’ brotherhood were needed for the development of Abia State.
