Abia 2023: Emenike’s challenger loses suit seeking nullification of APC guber primary

A Federal High Court sitting in Umuahia Friday, dismissed a suit seeking to nullify the primary election that produced Ikechi Emenike as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) in Abia State.

Chief Daniel Eke had gone to court claiming that the primary election conducted by the national leadership of APC on May 26, 2022 did not comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act as well as the party’s guidelines.

Apart from APC, Emenike and INEC as defendants, the plaintiff also joined the former Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Mr. Uche Ogah, who purportedly conducted his own primary and won a governorship ticket.

The plaintiff further claimed that the governorship primary that produced Emenike was conducted through indirect process while Ogah merely wrote results, claiming that he conducted direct primary without party and INEC involvement.

Delivering a judgement on Friday in suit No. FHC/UM/CS/96/2022 filed by Eke, the Presiding Judge, Justice Evelyn Anyadike dismissed the case on the ground that the plaintiff has no locus standi to challenge the outcome of the governorship election which he did not participate in.

“This suit is hereby dismissed and there is no need to look into the merits,” she declared.

According to Justice Anyadike, all the claims of the plaintiff were a bundle of contradictions since he claimed that there was no primary election and that he did not participate in any of the “parallel primaries” but in same breath, stated that he witnessed the primary in which Emenike emerged..

The Judge discovered contradictions in the plaintiff’s claims as he had admitted in a supporting affidavit that he participated in the indirect primary conducted by the committee sent by the national leadership of APC.

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