On September 3, 2022, the authenticity of Chief Ikechi Emenike’s candidacy was further affirmed by the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division.
By Emma Ogbuehi
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that despite the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, on Friday, declaring Mr. Uche Ogah winner of the party’s governorship primaries, Chief Ikechi Emenike remains its authentic candidate for the March 11, 2023 governorship election.
An Abuja Court presided over by Justice Binta Nyako had today invalidated the candidacy of Chief Emenike who is recognized by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the party’s candidate for the governorship election, while handing victory to Ogah, former Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development.
But in a swift reaction to Justice Nyako’s ruling, APC said the judgement cannot be enforced since the Appeal Court had already ruled on the matter.
Weighing in on the controversial judgement, the APC legal adviser in Abia State, Barrister V.C. Nwankwo, said “in the eye of the law, Ikechi Emenike still remains the APC candidate in Abia State.”
Stating his reasons in a statement on Friday, Nwankwo said: “First, Justice Binta Nyako’s judgment cannot be enforced or executed until the final pronouncement by the Supreme Court on the subject matter.
“Second, the judgment of the Abia State High Court by Justice Benson Anya of June 24, 2022, in Suit No HUM/31/2022:IKECHI EMENIKE VS APC @2 ORS affirmed the candidature of Ikechi Emenike.
“The judgment of Abia State High Court was affirmed by the Court of Appeal, Abuja in two separate judgments and also by the Court of Appeal in Owerri.
“The law is trite that judgments of the appellate courts are binding on the lower courts and parties. Again the judgment of the Federal High Court cannot override and is not superior to the said three judgments of the Court of Appeal that affirmed Ikechi Emenike as the candidate of the APC in Abia State.
“Moreover, contrary to the judgment of Justice Binta Nyako today, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court had settled it in so many decisions that INEC and the courts cannot determine who the candidate of a political party is where and when there are two competing primaries.
“Therefore, there is no cause for alarm. The mission to rescue and rebuild Abia State by High Chief Ikechi Emenike is unstoppable.”
On September 3, the authenticity of Chief Ikechi Emenike’s candidacy was further affirmed by the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division.
The appellate court presided over by Justice B. Georgewill dismissed the appeal filed by Mr. Uche Ogah seeking to nullify the candidature of Emenike.
In its judgment on the appeal No. CA/OW/269/2022: APC & ANOR Vs Ikechi Emenike & ANOR, the appellate court dismissed the appeal for lack of merit and endorsed the judgment of the Abia State High Court which recognised Emenike as the authentic candidate of APC.
READ ALSO: APC accuses Justice Nyako of plotting to foist Ogah as Abia gov candidate
Following the emergence of Ikechi Emenike as the governorship standard-bearer of Abia APC at the primary election conducted by the panel sent by the national leadership of the party, Ogah had sought to stop him, claiming that he conducted a “direct primary and won” even without any authorisation or supervision by the APC national secretariat.
Emenike then approached the court to determine if having won the governorship primary, the party can refuse forwarding his name to INEC.
Justice Benson Anya, in delivering his judgment in suit No HUM/31/2022, resolved the matter in favour of Emenike on June 24, 2022.
Based on the court ruling, APC submitted Chief Ikechi Emenike’s name to INEC for recognition, an action which the Court Appeal, Abuja Division, affirmed as the right thing.
Meanwhile, as Justice Nyako was delivering her judgement on Friday, another Federal High Court in Umuahia, also affirmed Chief Emenike as the APC governorship candidate in Abia.
TheNiche had reported last week of the accusation by the APC against Justice Nyako of plotting to foist a governorship candidate on the party in the 2023 elections.
The party raised the alarm through its Secretary in Abia State, Hon. Chidi Avaja.
Narrating the party’s ordeal in the hands of Justice Nyako to TheNiche, Hon. Avaja said: “Since October 25, 2022, when the appeals were filed, Hon Justice Binta Nyako seized the case file and refused to release same to the Registrar of the Appeal Section to enable the record of appeal to be promptly compiled and transmitted to the registry of the Court of Appeal for prompt hearing of the two appeals before judgment is delivered in the case.”
APC accused Justice Nyako of conniving with the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to frustrate the compilation and transmission of the record of appeal to the Registry of the Court of Appeal in order to delay the hearing of their appeals until after November 11, 2022.
The APC secretary further said, “Hon. Justice Binta Nyako is determined to miscarry justice on November 11. And she is going about it with no qualms. Against the decision of the Party, against the provisions of the electoral laws, she wants to anoint a governorship candidate for APC in Abia State.
“Despite written protests of bias against her, despite objections that once there are contentions over facts/affidavits, such suits cannot be heard through Originating Summons, Nyako overruled all such objections on October 12. The Party and one of the candidates signified interest to appeal against her ruling.
“After several visits, she reluctantly granted leave to appeal on October 25. After granting leave, she took away the case file, making it impossible for the appeal section of the Federal High Court to compile and transmit records to the Court of Appeal.
“Despite petitions and appeals, she bluntly refused to release the case file or release relevant processes in the case file for compilation and transmission of the records of the appeal to the Court of Appeal, thereby frustrating the timely hearing of the appeal. Such stalling would enable her to deliver a compromised judgment on November 11.”