The All Progressives Congress, APC, yesterday suffered another setback in Imo State, following the decisions of two separate courts to stop two of its candidates from tomorrow’s polls.
While Justice C. J.
Ringim of Federal High Court 2, Owerri, stopped Obinna Mbata from
running for the Owerri Federal Constituency, Justice Bello Kawu of the
Federal Capital Territory High Court, equally barred Deacon Chike Okafor
from contesting for Okigwe South Federal Constituency.
According
to the judgment made available to Vanguard in Owerri, Justice Kawu
handed down the order on Okafor, following a suit filed by Mrs. Uzoma
Chioma Maryann, against the APC and two others, which urged the Court to
declare the primary election conducted for the federal constituency as
“unconstitutional, illegal, null, void and of no effect”.
Delivering
his judgment on the matter, Kawu held that the APC did not conduct any
primary election for the House of Representative seat for Okigwe South
constituency and should not be allowed to field a candidate for the
office.
He said that having considered the case of the plaintiff
and all authorities cited by the learned counsel, the Court was of the
strong view that the question that calls for determination by the Court,
was whether proper procedure was followed for selection or nomination
of the second defendant (Okafor), as a candidate of the first defendant
(APC) for Okigwe South federal constituency.
Justice Kawu noted
that the defendants did not show any appearance nor were they
represented by counsel, even as he frowned that the defendants did not
deem it fit to file counter affidavit, a development he said, “was
admission to the averments”.
“It is therefore my declaration that
the final report of the Electoral Appeal Panel, which recommended the
nomination and submission of the second defendant’s name as the House of
Representatives candidate of the first defendant for Okigwe South
federal constituency of Imo State, is inappropriate, unlawful, null and
void for failure to comply with the first defendant’s guidelines for
nomination of candidates”, Justice Kawu held.
The Court therefore
restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission from further
recognizing, accepting or listing the name of the second defendant as
the candidate of APC in the 2019 ballot paper for Okigwe South federal
constituency, because the APC did not conduct primary election for the
office.
In a related development, the Federal High Court sitting
in Owerri, sacked Mbata and ordered that Tony Umezuruike to used as a
replacement for the Owerri federal constituency seat.
Justice
Ringim ruled that Umuzuruike is the candidate, having won the legitimate
highest number of votes shown by evidence, during the primaries,
against the name of the person earlier submitted.
Source:- Vanguardngr
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