By: Ikenna Oluka
Federal High Court sitting in Enugu, Tuesday, sacked the senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC for Enugu East Senatorial district, Prince Lawrence Eze declaring that he was not properly nominated for the contest.
The court ruled that the plaintiff, Adaku Ogbu Aguocha, who came second in the APC senatorial primary election held on October 2, 2018, was the rightful candidate since Uchenna Ezemba, who won the primary had voluntarily stepped down.
Ezemba had shortly after the primary election announced his withdrawal to pave the way for Prince Eze ,who lost his bid to fly the PDP flag.
Eze who lost the PDP senatorial ticket to a former Governor of the state, Dr. Chinaroke Nnamani, crossed over to APC and was awarded the party’s ticket with which he began his campaign ahead of the general election.
The development irked other contestants including the plaintiff, who vowed to seek legal redress.
Consequently, Aguocha, approached the court to challenge the decision of the party to field the person, she said, never contested the election and was not a member of party as at the time the primary poll was held.
She among other reliefs prayed the court to declare her the duly elected candidate of the APC since Ezemba, who emerged winner of the primary poll had withdrawn from the contest.
The presiding judge, Justice Buba Ibrahim, in a detailed judgement, dismissed the objection raised by the defendant’s counsel that the case was statute barred, explaining that the matter which arose from an act of impunity, centered on wrongful nomination and not substitution.
Declaring that the application by the plaintiff had merit and therefore succeeded, Justice Mohammed asked the first respondent, APC to forward the name of the applicant to the third respondent, INEC, as the recognized candidate for Enugu East without further delay.
Describing the matter as a case of “monkey dey work baboon dey chop’