The All Progressives Congress (APC) and its national chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, have denied organising the primary election that purportedly produced a former minister of Solid Minerals, Dr Uche Sampson Ogah, as the party’s 2023 governorship candidate in Abia State.
The party’s National Working Committee (NWC), however, recognised the primary that produced one Ikechi Emenike as the governorship flag bearer.
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The party and Adamu, through their lead counsel, Professor Sam Eruogo (SAN), made the claim before a Federal High Court.
Eruogo, therefore, asked the court to dismiss the two grounds of Ogah’s suit for lack of locus standi to challenge the legally conducted primary election.
Eruogo told the court that the primary election been laid claim to by Ogah was unknown to law in Nigeria because it was conducted by a faction of the Abia State chapter of the APC, while Emenike won in 184 wards of the state as against that of Uche, that was conducted in one place.
Similarly, counsel to Emenike, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), asked the court to uphold the nomination of his client on the ground that he emerged from a primary election lawfully conducted by the APC NWC.
But counsel to Ogah, Solomon Umoh (SAN), asked the court to compel APC to submit his name to INEC as the lawful candidate, maintaining that the direct primary election that produced him was monitored by officials of INEC and that a report to that effect was made available by the electoral body.
After listening to the parties, Justice Binta Nyako fixed the suit for judgement on November 11.
