The Supreme Court Thursday affirmed Ikechi Emenike as the Abia State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2023 general election.
Emenike had been declared the winner of the controversial primary election in Abia but Justice O. A. Chijioke nullified the result.
The party held parallel governorship primaries that produced both Emenike and Uche Ogah as governorship flag bearers.
In the suit instituted by Mr. Chinedum Nwole and two others, the judge declared that Emenike lacks the locus standi to contest the primary election because he had earlier been suspended from the party.
The court ruled that both Emenike and the APC State Chairman, Chief Donatus Nwakpa, breached article 9.3 of the APC constitution by going ahead to participate in the primary election.
Justice Chijioke declared their participation in the ward, local council, state and the recently held national convention of the party as illegal.
The ruling read in part, “That by the virtue of the suspension of the first defendant (Emenike) as a member of the second defendant (APC), the first defendant cannot participate in whatever form whatsoever in the activities of the second defendant including the scheduled ward, local government, state and national congresses of the second defendant due to to take place between 2021 and 2022.
“That order of injunction is hereby made restraining the first defendant from parading, dignifying and or posturing himself as a legitimate member of APC during the subsisting of his suspension from the party as prescribed by the constitution.”
Consequently, the judge directed the National Working Committee of the party to desist from having further dealing with the duo based on the subsisting court order.
Meanwhile, on November 11, Justice Binta Nyako of Federal High Court in Abuja sacked Emenike and ordered the electoral umpire to recognise Ogah as a validly elected candidate.
APC and Emenike had filed separate appeals challenging Nyako’s judgement.
Meanwhile, another aspirant, Dan Eke, filed an appeal challenging the judgment that recognised Ogah’s candidacy.
