Abia guber: Appeal court dismisses suit challenging Emenike as APC candidate

The court of appeal in Owerri, Abia, has dismissed a suit by Uche Ogah, former minister of state for mines and steel, against the nomination of Ikechi Emenike as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The appellate court, on Tuesday, threw out Ogah’s motion to be joined as an interested party in a judgement of an Abia high court which affirmed Emenike’s nomination.

On May 26, the APC declared Emenike the winner of the governorship primary election in the state.

Subsequently, ruling in a suit instituted by Chinedum Nwole and two others, an Abia high court declared that Emenike lacks the locus standi to contest the election because he had earlier been suspended from the party.

However, in another ruling, O.A. Chijioke, the judge, granted Emenike a stay of execution on the restraining order earlier imposed.

Emenike thereafter approached the high court to determine whether the APC can refuse to submit his name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He also prayed the court to determine whether INEC can refuse to publish his name as the APC candidate for the 2023 governorship election.

The court, in its judgment delivered on June 24, mandated APC to submit Emenike’s name to INEC and for the commission to upload his name on its portal.

Also, the court restrained INEC from accepting or publishing the name of any other person other than Emenike.

Uche Ogah — who was not a party to the suit and did not participate in the primary that produced Emenike — approached the court of appeal with a motion for leave to appeal the said judgment as an interested party.

Opposing the motion, Emenike’s legal team argued that the appeal court lacks the jurisdiction to hear the motion since it was filed outside the 14 days stipulated for filing of an appeal in pre-election cases.

The court of appeal consequently upheld the preliminary objection against the motion.

“The motion for leave filed by Uche Ogah as the applicant was filed out of time (14) days as provided for and by Section 285(11) of the constitution of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and accordingly incompetent,” the court held.