- APGA hails Appeal Court for upholding justice
- Urges INEC to publish Soludo’s name now
- Okeke heads for Supreme Court
The Court of Appeal, Kano Division, has dismissed the judgment of Jigawa High Court, which declared Chukwuma Umeoji and Jude Okeke as candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for the November 6 governorship poll, and the party’s national chairman in Anambra State.
In a unanimous judgment, yesterday, the three-man panel of justices declared that Justice Ubale Umar of Jigawa High Court lacked the territorial or substantive jurisdiction to pronounce on the dispute arising from the Anambra APGA governorship primary.
It could not be ascertained from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), at press time, whether the full weight of the appellate court ruling is enough to remove all other hurdles against the listing of Prof. Chukwuma Soludo as the party’s candidate.
Reacting to the ruling, the APGA National Chairman, Victor Oye, through the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Tex Okechukwu, described the appellate court’s judgment which favours its candidate for the Anambra State governorship election, Soludo, as watershed in Nigeria’s political Life.
Oye pleaded with INEC to do the needful without further delay by enlisting Soludo as the party’s duly nominated candidate for the November 6 election, even as he congratulated APGA faithful all over the country for their resoluteness and support.
BUT the parallel National Chairman/factional governorship candidate of APGA, Umeoji, rejected the judgment, which recognised Oye as the national chairman.
The special panel of the court led by Justice Haruna Tsammani held that Justice Ubale was biased in the manner the case was handled, having contravened Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, for not granting Oye fair hearing before a court or tribunal and lacking jurisdiction to adjudicate the matter.
The two other judges are Maiwada Abdullahi and Usman Musale. In the unanimous judgment, they declared Okeke and his group as “meddlesome interlopers” and ordered INEC not to recognise Okeke’s purported faction for being a product of rascality of politicians.
Also, a former National Chairman of APGA, Senator Victor Umeh, described the judgment as landmark, revealing that the attempt to stop Oye was targeted at Soludo.
The party praised the judiciary for standing firm in defence of the country’s constitution and it’s statutes.
In a statement in Abuja, the National Chairman of the party, Ozonkpu Victor Ike Oye, who spole through the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Tex Okechukwu, called on INEC to do the needful without further delay by publishing the name of Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo as the rightful candidate of APGA for the November 6 Anambra State Governorship Election.
Oye said that the judgement had renewed the hope of the people of the country in the judiciary and appealed to the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Disciplinary Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association to ensure that any judge or lawyer found guilty of professional misconduct was brought to justice.
While congratulating millions of APGA supporters across the country, especially those of them in Anambra State, Oye thanked them for their steadfastness and support.
The APGA national chairman urged all those still feuding with the party to embrace common sense and peace and return to the fold, so that “together we will win the forthcoming governorship election as one united family.”
“It affirmed that any suit in any court in Nigeria without Oye being a party as the incumbent National Chairman is a nullity.
In setting aside the judgement of the Jigawa High Court, the Appeal Court said that all the proceedings at lower court was a nullity.
According to statement issued by the party, the Appeal Court described the Appeal by Mr. Jude Okeke and Garba Aliyu as undeserving of precious judicial time and accordingly struck it out.
“The Appeal Court further warned lawyers and Judges against desecrating the temple of Justice, adding that lawyers and judges should be guided by the oaths they have taken as officers in the temple of Justice,” it said.
APGA further described the Appeal Court ruling as, “A judgement against forum shopping, a judgement against impostors trying to pervert the course of justice and a judgement against judicial officers desecrating the temple of Justice”.
It further described the outcome as a judgement for justice and truth.
The Guardian / Vanguard
