The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, has sworn in Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe as the senator representing Cross River North Senatorial District.
Jarigbe was sworn in on Wednesday as a replacement for Stephen Odey, who was sacked by the Appeal Court on July 31, 2021.
Recall that Jarigbe had won the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primary election to replace the late Senator Rose Oko but Odey was declared as the winner and subsequently sworn in as Senator.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Calabar on Friday, July 31, 2021, declared Jarigbe as senator-elect, following the December 5, 2020, Cross River North Senatorial District by-election.
Justice Iheme-Nwosu said it was an affront for the tribunal to jettison the decision of the Supreme Court on the authentic candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party.
The judge said, “It is our humble and firm view that the issue calls for consideration whether the tribunal was right to jettison the decision of the High Court, Appeal Court, and Supreme Court and declare the 1st Respondent (Odey) as validly elected.
Also, the Court of Appeal, Abuja Judicial Division, had ruled in the separate applications brought before it that it had no jurisdiction to review and amend the decision regarding the Cross River Senatorial District by-election given by the Calabar Division of the court in the given circumstances.
