Ugochukwu Eke
A High Court sitting in Abuja, has declared that Chief Ikechi Emenike is the authentic governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia state for the forthcoming governorship election.
The court also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognize Chief Emenike as the gubernatorial candidate of the APC in Abia State for the 2019 general elections.
The court further ordered INEC to only recognize and accept all other candidates that emerged from the Dr. Emmanuel Ndukwe led executive of the Abia state APC who emerged during the congress.
The court which was presided by Justice K. N. Ogbonnaya also struck out a motion filed by Uche Ogah to be joined in the suit.
In her judgment, Justice Ogbonnaya granted the reliefs sought by the plaintiff, Ikechi Emenike to declare him the Abia APC governorship for the 2019 general election.
Emenike in the suit sought for the following reliefs from the FCT high court, to declare and reaffirm the leadership of Dr. Emmanuel Ndukwe as the authentic one in Abia state as ordered by Justice Collington Okoroafor.
A declaration that the 1st defendant (APC) has no discretion to refuse, reject and/or neglect to act on the list of candidates forwarded to it for onward transmission to the 2nd defendant (INEC).
An order compelling the 1st defendant to forward the name of the plaintiff being the winner of the primary election as the governorship candidate of the APC in Abia state.
An order compelling INEC to accept and list the name of the plaintiff being the winner of the governorship primaries conducted by the party on the 30th September, 2018 as the Abia state candidate of APC in the forth-coming governorship elections.
They also sought an injunction restraining the defendants from through their officials, agents or servants from omitting, removing, swapping the name of the plaintiff.
In his reaction in a telephone interview the Abia state chairman of APC, Dr. Emmanuel Ndukwe, commended the judiciary for upholding justice and fairness, describing the ruling as the sign of better things to come in the state.
Ndukwe said the that judgment has further added impetus to their struggle to retrieve the party from those he alleged are not APC members and also set the party on the part of electoral success.
