Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri, Imo State, on Friday, has invalidated the candidature of Senator Ifeanyi Ararume as the All Progressives Congress (APC) flagbearer for the Imo North bye-election.
The court declared Frank Ibezim, who was originally declared winner of the primary election as the authentic candidate.
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A Federal High Court had earlier sacked Ibezim as APC candidate and given the win to Ararume, who came third in the primary election.
The judgment, which came barely 24 hours to the bye-election which holds on Saturday, December 5, in the six local government areas of the senatorial district, was delivered by Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam.
Delivering the judgment in a tension-soaked courtroom, the trial judge declared Ibezim as the authentic candidate of the APC ahead of the election and faulted the November 6 judgment of the Federal High Court which sacked Ibezim and announced Araraume, who represented the district between 1999 and 2007 as the rightful winner of APC primary election.
The justice ordered INEC to immediately enlist Ibezim’s name as the candidate of the party for the bye-election.
He said that the revalidation of the candidacy of Ibezim was in line with the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), having won the APC primary election.
