Sources in Abia PDP believe Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, who left the party and also withdrew from the 2022 primaries, instituted the dismissed case through proxies.
By Jeffrey Agbo
The Supreme Court has struck out an appeal filed by some parties seeking to nullify the PDP Abia State primary election conducted last year which produced candidates for election including the late Prof Uche Ikonne.
Leading a seven-man panel on Wednesday, Justice John Okoro dismissed the suit and awarded N2 million in favour of the respondents which is to be paid personally by the appellants’ lawyer, Chukwuma Ume (SAN), for filling a frivolous and vexacious appeal.
The case was filed by Ndudi Nwagbara, Onyekachi Abaribe and five others.
It commenced at the Federal High Court in Umuahia which dismissed the suit on the basis that the claimants, who claimed to have bought forms to participate in the primary elections of the PDP Abia as delegates, were not aspirants as described in the Electoral Act 2022 and therefore lacked the locus standi to bring the action.
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The claimants, dissatisfied with the judgement, filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal in Owerri, Imo State. In January 2023, the Court of Appeal upheld the judgement of the trial court and also ruled that the claimants lacked the locus standi to bring the appeal.
In a related development, the claimants also filed a motion seeking to substitute Okey Ahaiwe who is the PDP governorship candidate in Abia State with the late Ikonne which was opposed vehemently that Ahaiwe was not a product of the first PDP primary election that produced Ikonne but a product of a different primary election and stands on his own.
The apex court’s judgement means there is no legal impediment for any of the governorship, senatorial, House of Representatives and House of Assembly candidates of the PDP in Abia.
Sources in Abia PDP believe Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, who left the PDP and also withdrew from the 2022 primaries when it was clear that he was not the favoured aspirant of the stakeholders in Abia PDP, instituted the dismissed case through proxies.
