Court Orders INEC to Reinstate Soludo, Uba as APGA, PDP Candidates

 

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been ordered to publish the names of Professor Chukwuma Soludo and Senator Ugochukwu Uba as governorship candidates of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) respectively, for the Anambra November 6 election without further delay.

 

Justice Obiora Nwabunike, who adjudicated on the case involving Uba, Valentine Ozigbo and the PDP, said the party erred by using what it called ‘super delegates’ without vacating a pending order by an Abuja court.

 

The judge held: “With the evidence before me and having heard from parties involved in the matter, I rule that Ugochukwu Uba is the duly elected candidate of PDP

In the other case, Justice C.C. Okaa reinstated Prof Soludo as the APGA candidate and ordered INEC to publish his name immediately.

 

The Court also ordered INEC to remove the already-published name of Chukwuma Umeoji, ordering him to stop parading himself as the candidate of APGA

 

Justice Okaa reaffirmed Victor Ike Oye as the indisputable National Chairman of APGA and ordered Edozie Njoku and Jude Okeke to stop parading themselves as national chairmen of APGA.

 

The Jude Okeke-led APGA national executive kicked against the ruling reinstating Soludo as the party’s candidate.

 

The faction’s National Publicity Secretary, Ikechukwu Chukwunyere, told reporters at a briefing in Abuja that an order by a High Court in Jigawa State was still subsisting.

 

He said: “We have invited you here today to brief you on the happenings in our party and the desperation of some anti-democratic forces to desecrate the judiciary and jettison the rule of law principle which is fundamental in a democracy.