Speaker of Abia State Assembly disobeys court order, refuses to swear in PDP lawmaker-elect.

Aaron Uzodike, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is urging Speaker Emmanuel Emereuwa of the Abia State House of Assembly to swear him in as the representative for Aba North constituency.

The Court of Appeal declared Uzodike the winner of the March 18, 2023 House of Assembly election, removing Destiny Nwagwu of the Labour Party (LP) from office in the process.

Uzodike spoke to journalists in Umuahia about his situation and requested that Governor Alex Otti respect the law and pressure the Speaker into inaugurating him immediately.

He expressed disappointment that his constituents have been without representation for the past five months despite receiving a Certificate of Return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on December 13, 2023.

Uzodike also mentioned that the Abia State High Court in Obehie, Ukwa LGA, dismissed a case filed by his opponent, Destiny Nwagwu, on March 19, 2024. Nwagwu had claimed to be personally investigating Uzodike’s credentials.

According to Uzodike, the House had scheduled his inauguration for January 18, 2024, but the Speaker allegedly informed him that he could not be sworn in because the powers-that-be did not want it to happen. He displayed his Certificate and Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment during the interview.