Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Suit filed by one of the governorship aspirants of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Abia State, Chief Dan Eke, against the governorship primaries of the party, has been thrown out by the Federal High Court sitting in Umuahia.
Delivering judgment on the matter on Friday, presiding Judge, Justice Evelyn Anyadike, dismissed the suit, and held that the plaintiff did not have any locus standi in the matter.
He held that since the plaintiff said he did not participate in the primaries, he had no legal rights to contest their outcome.
Chief Emenike and Ogah who emerged through indirect and direct parallel primaries respectively, have both been laying claims to the governorship ticket.
But dissatisfied with the conduct of the elections, Eke, approached the High Court, urging it to nullify both exercises.
Eke, in the suit, argued that Emenike’s indirect primary contradicted the party’s directive that direct primary election be conducted in Abia.
Similarly, he argued that Ogah emerged through direct primary but claimed that the exercise was neither conducted by the national leadership of APC nor supervised by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
He equally claimed that the exercise was shrouded in secrecy, saying that while he was busy looking for the venue of the primaries, the claimants wrote the results of the purported primaries.
The court further held that the inability of the plaintiff to locate the venue of the primaries was not justiciable.
In their responses, Counsels to Emenike, H. O Afolabi, SAN; as well as APC lawyer, hailed the ruling, describing it as “well seasoned.”
Ogah’s lawyer, Oliver Amuzie, also described the judgment as well articulated.
But Chief Eke, who was present at the court, expressed disappointment with the judgment which he said was “a serious anomaly.”
He vowed to appeal it and pursue the matter up to the Supreme Court until he gets justice.
Eke expressed shock that after APC would claim that he was not its registered member after collecting N50 million from him as cost of nomination form.
He said that he remained a loyal member of APC but would fight against impunity and lawlessness in the party for democracy to thrive.
