2023: Appeal Court Affirms Ikechi Emenike As Abia APC Guber Candidate
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has nullified the High Court judgement affirming Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah as the Governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State for the March 11, 2023 elections.
Crisis had erupted in the APC Chapter of Abia State after the party held parallel Governorship Primary Elections in the state on May 26, that produced Ogah and Ikechi Emenike as candidates of the party.
The National Working Committee of the APC had communicated to INEC that Abia, Benue and Osun States will elect Candidates vide the Direct Primary System. Whilst the indirect mode (without election of delegates) was conducted to elect Emenike, a faction of the Party conducted the Direct mode that produced Ogah.
Emenike was declared winner with 672 votes out of 892 votes cast by 907 accredited delegates whilst Ogah polled 141,952 votes out of the total 195,801 votes through the Direct mode System.
The NWC of the Party stood behind the Chairman, Governing Board of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (Emenike) despite the threats of Court cases from the 2019 Abia APC Guber Candidate.
On November 11, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja affirmed Ogah as the valid Candidate of the Party for the reason that the Direct mode as stipulated by the Party was conducted and monitored by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Unsurprisingly dissatisfied with the ruling, the APC & Emenike approached the penultimate Court in twin appeals: CA/ABJ/1258 (High Chief Ikechi Emenike Vs Dr. Sampson Uche Ogah & 3 Ors) and CA/ABJ/1257 (APC Vs Dr. Sampson Uche Ogah & 3 Ors) respectively.
Joined in the appeal is another Aspirant, Daniel Eke in Suit No: CA/ABJ/1297 who is praying the Court to set aside the judgement of Justice Nyako validating Ogah.
The presiding judge, Justice Peter Olabisi Ige JCA leading two other Justices in a unanimous decision, set aside Justice Nyako’s judgement and affirmedIkechi Emenike as the Candidate of the APC in Abia State for 2023.
Justice Ige JCA reading the judgement in each of the appeals one after another, berated Nyako for ignoring the issue of jurisdiction instead of resolving the issue given that it was fundamental in adjudication.
The learned Judge read out the names of the members of the panel sent by the APC National Secretariat to conduct the primary that produced Emenike, affirming that the exercise was valid. He ruled that Ogah’s Primary was superintended by the State Chapter of the Party and hence the 1st respondent (Ogah) has no locus having not participated in the NWC-backed Primary.
He also faulted the report of INEC which Ogah had used to back his claims.
“A report by the electoral umpire cannot validate an otherwise invalid primaries”.
“You cannot place something on nothing and expect it to stand. The INEC report is inchoate and cannot validate the primaries relied on by Ogah,” the Appellate Court held.
