Achonu was declared the rightful candidate of LP in Imo State by the Supreme Court on Thursday
By Kehinde Okeowo
The Supreme Court on Thursday, September 28, asserted that Senator Athan Achonu is the rightful candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Imo state ahead of the November 11 gubernatorial election.
Reacting to the verdict shortly after the judgment was delivered, the counsel to LP, Barrister Okwudili Anozie, said the controversy surrounding the candidature of Achonu has now been put to rest.
He said, “Today at the Supreme Court, the antics of Basil Maduka and his accomplice Joseph Ukaegbu, alias Ikenga, was put to an end as they met their waterloo at the Apex Court.
“Today was a culmination of their deceit and lies to Imolites spanning from their misrepresentation of the true position of the judgments of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.
“Upon the exposure and collapse of their lies before the Supreme Court today, Basil’s Counsel, with tails in between his legs, immediately withdrew his subterfuge appeal that was aimed at giving credence to Ukaegbu’s sham, non-existent primaries”.
Prior to this development, Basil Maduka, one of the governorship aspirants under the umbrella of the party, had approached a Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, to challenge Achonu’s victory after the party’s primary election.
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However, at the Supreme Court on Thursday, a panel of five justices led by Iyang Okoro threw out the case on the ground that it lacked locus standi.
The apex court also accused the appellant of abusing the court process and wasting its time from the lower courts to the highest.
Achonu was not the only respondent in the matter, Lamidi Apapa-led faction’s candidate, Joseph Ukaegbu, a.k.a Ikenga and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were also listed.
The LP candidate, who lost one of his arms in 1970, may become the first physically challenged governor in Nigeria if he emerges the winner of the forthcoming guber poll.