The joy of Chief Ikechi Emenike and his supporters following their victory at the primaries on Thursday as APC candidate in the governorship election next year in Abia State has been short-lived.,
This followed an Abia High Court’s ruling hours later against the victory as Justice O. A. Chijioke nullified the result.
TheNewsGuru.com reports that Emenike had been declared the victor of Thursday’s controversial primary election.
The suit against the process was instituted by Mr. Chinedum Nwole and two others.
The judge declared that Emenike lacks the locus standi to contest the primary election because he had earlier been suspended from the party.
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The court ruled that both Emenike and the APC State Chairman, Chief Donatus Nwakpa breached article 9.3 of the APC constitution by going ahead to participate in the primary election.
Justice Chijioke therefore, declared their participation in the ward, local council, state and the recently held national convention of the party as illegal.
The ruling read in part, “That by the virtue of the suspension of the first defendant (Emenike) as a member of the second defendant (APC), the first defendant cannot participate in whatever form whatsoever in the activities of the second defendant including the scheduled ward, local government, state and national congresses of the second defendant due to to take place between 2021 and 2022.
“That order of injunction is hereby made restraining the first defendant from parading, dignifying and or posturing himself as a legitimate member of APC during the subsisting of his suspension from the party as prescribed by the constitution.”
Consequently, the judge directed the National Working Committee of the party to desist from having further dealing with the duo based on the subsisting court order.
TheNewsGuru.com reports that the lingering crisis in Abia APC had been going on for a while with the efforts of some stakeholders of the party in the State not yielding much result.
