A high Court sitting in Akwa has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to publish the name of Senator Ugochukwu Uba as the rightful candidate to contest the Anambra governorship election on the platform of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP).
The court presided over by Justice Obiorah Nwabunike on Monday July 19th 2021, also awarded N10 million cost against PDP.
The INEC had declined to publish any name pending the determination of the suits.
But Senator Ugochukwu Uba went to court insisting that he was the proper candidate for the election.
Among other issues Uba wanted the court to determine who should be the authentic candidate in the governorship election held on June 26, 2021, at Paul University Awka in compliance with the Federal Capital Territory High Court order that delegates take part in the primary election in which all the party chairmen elected in 2017 when Mr. Sam Umeaba emerged state chairman, and the primary election held at Dora Akunyili Women Development Centre in which Super Delegates participated where Ozigbo emerged “in disobedience to Federal High Court, Abuja” and whether INEC should publish Ozigbo’s name.
Uba urged the court to declare that the primary election held by a faction of PDP at Dora Akunyili Women Development Centre which produced Ozigbo was illegal; and that it was illegal for him to parade himself.
He asked for an order that INEC publishes Senator Uba’s name as the governorship candidate and compel INEC to recognise Uba as validly elected.
He also asked the court for a perpetual injunction stopping Ozigbo from parading himself as a governorship candidate.
In his judgment, Hon. Justice Nwabunike held that the faction that conducted its primary election at Dora Akunyili Women Development Centre did not obey court order because rather than forward names of delegates to INEC it used Super Delegates contrary to the judgment of the Federal High Court.
The judge noted that the faction had wanted to upturn the FCT High Court judgment but failed and still disobeyed it, “so the party has become a troubled house”, he ruled.
The court also ruled that any court order must be obeyed until it is upturned or a stay obtained.
