The Supreme Court has confirmed Ikechi Emenike as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Abia State for the 2023 general election.
PUNCH reported that in May 2022 the Abia High Court ruled against Emenike’s victory as the winner of the APC governorship primary election in Abia.
Emenike was declared the winner of the controversial primary election in Abia but the result was annulled by Justice OA Chijioke. The party held parallel gubernatorial primaries that produced Emenike and Uche Ogah as governorship flag bearers.
In the suit filed by Mr. Chinedum Nwole and two others, the judge declared that Emenike has no locus standi to contest the primary election as he was earlier suspended from the party.
The court ruled that both Emenike and the APC State Chairman, Chief Donatus Nwakpa, violated Article 9.3 of the APC constitution to participate in the primary elections.
Justice Chijioke declared it illegal to participate in the party’s ward, local council, state and recently held national convention.
The resolution read in part: “Consequent to the suspension of the first respondent (Emenike) as a member of the second respondent (APC), the first respondent cannot participate in the activities of the second respondent in any way whatsoever. The second defendant’s district, local government, state and national congresses are scheduled for 2021 to 2022.
“This injunction is granted restraining the first defendant from parading, honoring and or posing as a legal member of the APC pending his suspension from the party as mandated by the constitution.”
As a result, the judge ordered the party’s National Labor Committee to refrain from further dealings with the couple, according to the existing court order.
Meanwhile, on November 11, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed Emenike and ordered the electoral court to recognize Ogah as the elected candidate.
Dissatisfied with the judgment, APC and Emenike each filed appeals challenging Nyako’s ruling. On the other hand, another candidate, Dan Eke, filed an appeal challenging the judgment that recognized Ogah’s candidacy.
However, in December 2022, the Court of Appeal in Abuja confirmed Emenike as the party’s candidate.
Details later…
