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Eve of expiry date, S’Court rules on Akpabio’s election
A suit on appeal filed by Hon. Imo Edet Udo seeking to void the primary election of the PDP, that gave Governor Godswill Akpabio the ticket to seek for a re-run in 2011 was on Monday dismissed by the Supreme Court.
A five-man panel of Justices of the apex court led by Justice Suleiman Galadima threw-out the matter after it compelled the appellant to withdraw the appeal which it said has turned academic.
The appellant had gone before the court to challenge the judgement of the Calabar Division of the Court of Appeal, which had on December 9, 2013, upheld Akpabio’s nomination as the gubernatorial flag-bearer of the PDP in Akwa Ibom state.
Hon. Udo who was also a governorship aspirant of the PDP in the state, insisted that Akpabio was not eligible to contest the April 2011 gubernatorial election having failed to attach his tax clearance certificate as prescribed by the law.
Udo told the court that the exercise was skewed to favour Akpabio who he said was not even screened like all the other aspirants.
While the case was ongoing, Akpabio had unrestrained assess to the state’s resources, and was enjoying the pecks of the office for four years.
The questions analysts are struggling to answer are: why did it take so long for the case to be decided, on the eve of expiration of Akpabio’s tenure. And what would have happened to the four years, and monies enjoyed by Akpabio if the court had ruled otherwise?
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