THE Court of Appeal, Abuja Division has affirmed Ayogu Eze as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Saturday’s governorship election in Enugu State.
A three-member panel of Justices of the appellate court had, in a unanimous judgment delivered on Thursday upheld the appeal brought before it by the former senator, wherein he challenged an earlier judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which removed him as the party’s governorship candidate in Enugu State.
In the lead judgment of the court, delivered yesterday by Justice Abdul Aboki , the court held that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to adjudicate on the matter on the grounds that it was not filed within 14 days of the course of action as stipulated in Section 285(9) of the 4th Alteration of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
Recalled that Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja had granted the prayers in the suit filed by Barrister George Ogara challenging Eze’s emergence as the APC’s governorship candidate in the State.
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The judge had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to substitute Eze with Ogara as the candidate of the party ahead of the governorship poll.
The Court of Appeal, while upturning the verdict of the Federal High Court yesterday, held that Ogara’s suit before the trial court was caught up by the 4th Alteration to the 1999 Constitution which made it mandatory for all pre-election matters to be filed within 14 days of the course of action.
Justice Aboki noted that in breach of the constitutional provision, Ogara’s suit was filed before the Federal High Court more than 32 days after the governorship primaries that produced Eze as the party’s candidate took place on October 4, 2018.
According to Justice Aboki, the suit, not being filed within 14 days after the primary election was conducted, the Federal High Court had lost jurisdiction to entertain the case for being statute-barred.
He said: “Whatever right the respondent (Ogara) may have in his suit has been extinguished by law.”
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