A Federal High Court sitting in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital, has nullified the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary election of Akan Udofia.
The election of the business mogul said to have been held at 6 Ekpo Obot Street, Uyo May 26, 2022, was at the beginning, rejected by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the inability of the party to have invited the body for monitoring.
In a suit number FHC/UY/144/2022, Senator Ita Enang, an aggrieved APC governorship aspirant, had told the court that the party primary claimed to have been won by Udofia was characterised by several illegalities.
Enang, a former Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Niger Delta Affairs, also said Udofia, the self-acclaimed winner, was not a member of APC in the state.
But Udofia argued that the APC had given him a waiver that qualified him to contest the party primary held May 26, 2022, with attendant flaws and other forms of irregularities.
Delivering the judgment, Monday, Justice Agatha Okeke nullified the APC primary poll and ordered the party in the state to conduct another credible primary within two weeks for the emergence of a governorship standard bearer.
Justice Okeke also dismissed the purported waiver granted to Udofia by the APC.
The Judge also ordered the defendant Udofia who claimed to have won the aborted primary election of APC in the state not to participate in the fresh party primary election.
Taraba guber
In a related development, Senator Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf (APC) Taraba Central, Monday, gave kudos to Justice Egwuatu of the Federal High Court Abuja for nullifying the APC gubernatorial election conducted May 26, 2022.
Justice Egwuatu had in his ruling in Abuja, Monday, declared that based on submissions made before him by all concerned parties, the purported primary election conducted by APC on 26th of May this year upon which the party announced Senator Emmanuel Bwacha (APC Taraba South) as its candidate for the 2023 gubernatorial elections, was a nullity.
He ruled that Yusuf was a valid aspirant of the Taraba APC gubernatorial nominations, after validly obtaining both his Expression of Interest and Nomination forms from the APC, towards the said botched primary election.
He consequently ordered the party to conduct a fresh primary for authentic gubernatorial candidate within two weeks from this date of judgement, and that INEC should supervise same according to the provisions of the law.
In his reaction to the judgement, Senator Yusuf said it was a victory for democracy driven by internal party democracy.
He said the primary that produced Senator Bwacha as party’s guber candidate was a charade which made him to litigate against it as done by Chief David Sabo Kente in Federal High Court Jalingo which also ruled against the outcome of the primary election.
“The judgement given today on the case I filed against the purported winner of APC guber primary in Taraba State on 26th May, 2022, the party itself and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is a welcome development, as far as internal party democracy is concerned.
“I am not against my party or any member but strictly for due process in doing things which was thrown to the winds in the purported May 26th 2022 APC guber primary in Taraba State.
“I am happy that the required windows have been provided for all interested parties from the aspirants to the party executives and INEC to do the right thing with the ordered fresh primary election.
“Going by provisions of the law and specifically as stated in section 84(13) of the 2022 Electoral Act, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, may not participate in the ordered fresh primary since candidates earlier declared by political parties as winners of such faulty primaries are not eligible to contest in fresh ones,” he said.
