An Owerri High Court has reaffirmed Chukwuma Umeoji as the candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) for the November 6 governorship election in Anambra state.
The court also refused to recognise Victor Oye as the National Chairman of the party.
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Giving his ruling on the suit filed by Prof Charles Soludo and Oye, which sought to prevail on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remove Umeoji as the candidate of APGA, Justice V. C. Isiguzo of Court 9, Owerri High Court, also refused to grant a stay of execution on the previous ruling of Justice B. C. Iheka of Owerri High court.
This ruling was sequel to an application for stay of execution and leave to appeal filed by Oye wherein the court granted him leave to appeal but refused to grant the order for stay of execution.
The court stated that INEC cannot evade its duty to comply with the orders of the court declaring Umeoji as APGA candidate. He said the commission, therefore, has a legal obligation to continue to carry out, obey and comply with the extant, valid and subsisting judgment of the court delivered on July 28, which declared Umeoji as the candidate.
He also ordered INEC to continue to recognize Jude Okeke as the national chairman pending the determination of the appeal filed by Oye at the Court of Appeal, Owerri.
The judge held that the Owerri convention which produced Jude Okeke as the chairman of the party was valid.
The court directed INEC to accept and continue to recognize and publish the name of Umeoji who emerged as APGA’s governorship candidate in Awka as the candidate of the party and to mandatorily include his name in all electoral processes for the Anambra governorship election.
Recall that the Court of Appeal, Kano division had on August 10 set aside another judgment of the Jigawa High Court, which had declared Okeke as the APGA national chairman and that only governorship congress held by him shall be valid.
