Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Barely 48 hours after an Abuja Court nullified the governorship primary of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA in Abia State, the Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri Imo State, Friday, re-affirmed Professor Greg Ibe as the authentic candidate of the party.
Justice S.A Bola, who delivered the lead judgment in the appeal brought before the court by one of the governorship aspirants, Gen. Ijioma Nwokoro Ijioma (retd.), said that the appellant failed to prove the allegation of unfair hearing by the lower court.
The Appellate Court, said that “the appellant was unable to convince the court beyond every reasonable doubt about the culpability of the lower court on the contentious counts of alleged double membership of both APGA and PDP by Prof Ibe, participation in two primaries, the desired rejection of the peace pact document signed by him prior to the election as evidence, among other pleadings.”
Consequently, the Court resolved all seven contentious issues in favour of Prof Ibe.
It also sustained the earlier verdict of Umuahia High Court which had in December 2022 declared Professor Ibe the validly elected governorship candidate of APGA.
Gen. Ijioma who finished third behind Etigwe Uwa, SAN, in the May 29, 2022 governorship primary of the party, had filed a suit in the trial court seeking the nullification of the primary or his declaration as APGA governorship flag bearer.
Having lost out at the Federal High Court Umuahia, he proceeded to the court to Appeal Owerri but has equally lost out.
All three aspirants who lost at the primary including Uwa, Ijioma and Udensi, had respectively dragged Professor Ibe to the court.
While Ijioma and Uwa had lost, the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, nullified the APGA governorship primary.
