Anambra Central Election: Court Bars APC From Participating in Polls

A Federal High Court in Abuja has dashed the hopes of the All Progressives Con­gress (APC) to feature in the Anambra Central Sena­torial District election.

The court dismissed the suit brought by Mrs Sha­ron Ikeazor seeking to com­pel the Independent Nation­al Electoral Commission (INEC) to accept her as a substitute candidate to Dr Chris Ngige.
Delivering her judgment on the matter on Wednes­day in Abuja, Justice Anwu­li Chikere held that the time for political parties to nom­inate candidates for elective positions in respect of the 2015 elections had elapsed.

“The time for the nom­ination, withdrawal or sub­stitution of candidates for the court-ordered election in Anambra Central Sena­torial District election has elapsed,” she affirmed.

Ikeazor had dragged INEC before JusticeChikere, asking the court to compel the electoral umpire to accept her as the candi­date of the party in place of Ngige who withdrew from the election.
Justice Chikere assert­ed that “as decided by the Court of Appeal in the case of the Labour Party against INEC, there is no room for fresh candidates in a court-ordered election.
Consequently, the judge dismissed the suit for lack­ing in merit.
The Supreme Court had on February 10, 2017, put to rest the legal battle that has denied the people of Anambra Central Senato­rial District representation at the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly as it dismissed an appeal filed by Senator Uche Ekwun­ife challenging the cancella­tion of her election for the district.
The Anambra State Elec­tion Petitions Tribunal and the Court of Appeal Di­vision in Awka, Anambra State, had nullified the elec­tion that produced Ekwun­ife who was the candidate of the PDP in the poll and or­dered a fresh election to fill the vacancy.
However, dissatisfied with the decision at the ap­pellate court, Ekwunife ap­proached the Supreme Court to set aside the verdict.
But delivering judgment in the dispute last month by a five-man panel headed by Justice Tanko Mohammed, the apex court held that it had no jurisdiction to enter­tain matters emanating from the conduct of National As­sembly elections.
In the lead judgement that was handed down by Justice Amina Augie, the court affirmed the position of the respondent in the suit, Chief Victor Umeh of the All Progressives Grand Alliance who was Ekwunife’s chal­lenger at the lower courts.
Justice Augie held that the Appeal Court is the ter­minal point of all disputes over National Assembly polls, adding that the apex court lacked jurisdiction to hear and determine Ekwun­ife’s appeal in respect of the Anambra Central Senatori­al election dispute.
She further declared that Umeh’s preliminary objec­tions to Ekwunife’s appeal succeeded, saying, “this court lacks jurisdiction. This appeal is struck out.”
Meanwhile, Umeh, while reacting to the judgement, appealed to INEC to has­ten the conduct of the An­ambra Central Senatorial re­run poll.
Umeh said: “INEC has nothing holding it anymore from going ahead to conduct the Anambra Central Sena­torial election, going by the judgement by the Federal High Court, Abuja, which dismissed the suit by Sha­ron Ikeazor seeking to com­pel INEC to accept her as a substitute to Dr Chris Ngige for Anambra Central re-run election which is consistent with the law and the firm po­sition of INEC on the matter all along.”
“The Supreme Court judgement of 10th Febru­ary 2017 has completely re­moved the PDP from the election as it affirmed that the decision of the Court of Appeal Enugu Division on 7th December 2015 in re­spect of the Anambra Cen­tral Senatorial election is fi­nal.
“The court of Appeal had on 7th December 2015 nul­lified the election and or­dered a fresh election upon disqualifying the PDP can­didate, Hon. Uche Ekwun­ife on the grounds on inva­lid sponsorship by the PDP in the election.
“So, there is no other case that INEC can wait for be­fore fixing the date of the election. The status of the APC has been defined by the court judgment yesterday, as there is no change of candi­date permissible in the fresh election.
“The PDP cannot initiate any action in court or rely on any pending action in court to prevent INEC from going ahead with the election as it no longer has a locus standi in the Anambra Central Sen­atorial election”.
Umeh urged INEC to consider the plight of the Anambra Central District which has been without a representative at the Senate for almost two years and go ahead to conclude the elec­tion in the interests of jus­tice.