INEC obeys court order, lists Michael Enyong as Akwa Ibom PDP guber candidate

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has listed Michael Enyong as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom.

This follows the Abuja federal high court’s sack of Umo Eno as the governorship candidate and subsequent order mandating the PDP to submit Enyong’s name to INEC.

On October 4, 2022, INEC published the final list of candidates for governorship and state house of assembly elections.

At the time, the commission had listed Eno as the governorship candidate.

In a statement on its website, INEC said after the publication of the list, it was served orders of court in respect of the nomination of candidates and some political parties also forwarded complaints seeking correction of errors made in the details of their candidates.

“Consequent upon the above, the lists of candidates in respect of the attached Senatorial Districts and Federal Constituencies, Governorship and State House of Assembly elections are amended and published as Amendment No. 4 pursuant to the Orders of Court served on the Commission as at 15 February, 2023, Deaths and requests for correction of candidates’ details by political parties,” INEC said.

The commission, in the new amendment, therefore listed Enyong as the Akwa Ibom PDP governorship candidate.

BACKGROUND

In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1295/2022 filed in August, Enyong had submitted that he won the party’s primaries conducted on May 25, 2022.

Enyong referred the court to an order issued on May 18 by Obiora Egwuatu, a federal high court judge, which prevented the PDP from using its list of ad-hoc delegates to conduct the gubernatorial primary election in Akwa Ibom, until a final ruling is made on the case.

The plaintiff said he won the indirect primary election with 2,448 out of 2,776 total accredited votes.

He said the party, however, did not submit his name to INEC as the governorship candidate, prompting him to take legal action.

While INEC maintained a neutral stance in the matter, the second defendant (PDP) never put in an appearance despite the proof of being served with the originating summons and all other processes. 

Delivering the judgment on January 20, Fadima Aminu, the judge held that Enyong has been able to prove his case beyond a reasonable doubt and declared him the validly nominated gubernatorial candidate.

The judge added that INEC is to accord the plaintiff recognition, issue him a nomination form or publish his name as the 2nd defendant’s Akwa Ibom state gubernatorial candidate for the forthcoming 2023 general elections. 

The PDP, despite the court judgement, insisted that Eno remains its governorship candidate.