Court declares ex-minister of mines, Ogah, as APC governorship candidate in Abia

Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Friday, declared a former Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Uchechukwu Ogah, as the duly elected governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State.

The judge upheld the direct primary election that produced Ogah as APC’s candidate, having been monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

She nullified the nomination of Chief Ikechi Emenike who was earlier recognised by INEC as the party’s candidate for the March 11, 2023 governorship election in the state.

Ogah had in a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/95/2022 filed on August 22 by his team of lawyers led by D.D. Dodo (SAN) sought a declaration that the direct primaries conducted by APC and monitored by INEC complied with the Electoral Act 2022 on the conduct of primary elections for the nomination of governorship candidates in APC.

He also urged the court to make a declaration that having conducted its direct primaries in line with Section 84(4) of the Electoral Act and having had the same monitored by INEC, the party was not at liberty to conduct any other primaries for the nomination of a governorship candidate in the state.

The ex-minister, therefore, prayed for an order directing the APC to forward his name to INEC forthwith as its duly nominated candidate for the 2023 governorship election in Abia State.

READ ALSO: Court to rule on Abia APC governorship primary October 7

Emenike, APC, the party’s national chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, and INEC were listed as respondents in the suit.

In her ruling, Justice Nyako agreed with Ogar and ordered the party to forward his name to INEC as the duly elected governorship candidate for the 2023 election in Abia State.

Nyako, who invalidated the indirect election that produced Emenike as the party’s candidate, also directed the commission to recognise Ogah as the duly elected APC candidate in the state.

A crisis erupted in the APC chapter in Abia after the party held parallel governorship primary elections that produced Ogah and Emenike as the party’s candidates.

But acting on an Appeal Court’s judgment affirming an earlier ruling of the Abia State High Court which declared Emenike as the authentic governorship candidate of the APC, INEC had in October published Emenike’s name as the party’s validly nominated candidate for the 2023 election.

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