Appeal court returns Oborevwori as Delta PDP governorship candidate

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has returned Sheriff Oborevwori as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State for the 2023 general elections.

Oborevwori is the Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly.

The Appeal Court set aside the judgment of Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court which had on July 7 nullified his nomination on grounds of certificate forgery and perjury.

The High court named David Edevbie as the PDP governorship candidate for Delta State.

However, Justice Peter Ige, who delivered the judgment on Monday, held that claims against Oborevwori must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

He also held that David Edevbie, who instituted the Federal High Court suit, ought to have approached the court through a Writ of Summons to enable the resolution of disputes and not by originating summons where only affidavit evidence is required.

Justice Ige further held that issue of certificate forgery and faking of documents allegations against the Speaker are such that required witnesses from those who issued the certificates and the alleged fake documents.

The judge affirmed the victory of the Speaker in the May 25 primary election where he polled 590 votes to defeat Edevbie who scored only 113 votes to come second.