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The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship Aspirant in Abia, Dan Eke, has urged the Appeal Court, Owerri Division, to invalidate the candidacies of Ikechi Emenike and Uche Ogah.
On October 7, the Federal High Court in Umuahia dismissed Mr Eke’s suit challenging the outcomes of the parallel APC governorship primaries.
In doing so, the trial judge, Justice Evelyn Anyadike, said Mr Eke lacked the locus standi to sue, having not participated in the exercise.
Both Messrs Emenike and Ogah conducted separate primaries, which handed them the tickets.
However, the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) validated Mr Emenike’s ticket obtained through an indirect mode of primary and forwarded his name to INEC.
Mr Ogah, a former Minister of Mines and Steel Development, who emerged from a purported direct mode of primary, has since filed a suit also challenging Mr Emenike’s candidacy.
Mr Eke alleged that both primaries did not comply with section 84(14) of the Electoral Act 2022, the APC Constitution, and the guidelines and directives of the NWC for the May 26 primaries.
He, therefore, approached the Appeal Court with the relief to set aside the trial judge’s judgement to allow his suit.
Mr Eke also urged the upper court to consider and determine his suit on its merit.
He averred that the trial judge “erred in law” on six grounds, including denying him of the locus standi to sue and dismissing his suit without looking into its merit, amongst others.
Mr Eke further averred that the decision by the trial judge that he did not participate in the primaries, after admitting that his names and scores were published in the result sheets, “occasioned a miscarriage of justice in the matter”.
His Counsel, Obinna Nkume, told journalists that the filing of the processes for the appeal by all the parties had been concluded.
“We are therefore waiting for the court to give us a date,” he said. Mr Nkume added that the appeal must be concluded within 60 days.
“The same reliefs that the Federal High Court in Umuahia shied away from granting us is what we are asking the Appeal Court to grant us because it has the jurisdiction,” Mr Nkume said.
(NAN)
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