Anambra Guber: Court Upholds Uba/ Soludo As APGA/ PDP Candidates. As N600 million Bribe Allegation Rocks Anambra Election.

 

Anambra Guber: Court Upholds Uba/ Soludo As APGA/ PDP Candidates.

As N600 million Bribe  Allegation Rocks Anambra Election.

Nkiru Nwagbo

The battle over the candidacy of the People's Democratic Party PDP and the All Progressives Grand Alliance APGA took a new twist yesterday when the Awka High Court upheld that Sen Ugochukwu Uba is the candidate of the People's Democratic Party PDP and not Valentine Ozigbo adding that the Independent National Electoral Commission IÑEC should also enlist Prof Charles Soludo as the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance APGA.

Similarly the Federal High Court Awka   presided by Hon Justice Njajiwa Hyeladzira Ajita yesterday adjoined hearing on the suit filed by Ozigbo challenging the earlier order that he should stop parading himself as candidate of PDP to September 23rd this year.

Amidst heavy security made up of the police and soldiers inside and outside the court Hon Justice Charles Okara ruled that Soludo is the candidate of APGA and ordered INEC to publish his name and drop Him Chukwuma Umeoji who was earlier published as candidate.

Hon. Justice Obiora Nwabunike gave the order in his judgment on the matter between Uba as plaintiff and INEC, PDP and Valentine Ozigbo as defendants.

Nwabunike also awarded damages of N10 million against the defendant in favour of the plaintiff as cost of litigation

Uba had approached the court in Suit no A/230/2021 to determine if the  primary election conducted by the National Executive of PDP at the Dora Akunyili Women's Development Centre on June 26 was according to the law.

Uba also sought the determination of the court whether an Abuja High Court Order between  Mr Samuel Anyakorah and PDP which bothered on validity of the process that produced the Chief Chief Ndubuisi had been set aside or stayed.

Justice Nwabunike ruled that the Court Order which restrained PDP from conducting the primary had neither been stayed nor set aside.

He said though PDP as a body had their constitution and national executive both could not be above the order of Court and that the party had not successfully vacated the extant orders before conducting the primary.

He said that PDP erred by not clearing every legal huddle before the primary election adding that the process was in defiance of the law.

According to him an order of court remains subsisting unless and until it is upturned or set aside.

Nwabunile ruled that the primary which produced Uba at the Paul University complex on June 26 was lawful and in accordance with the electoral guideline which provided that primary elections could only be done through a delegate congress. 

The Judge also threw out an application by PDP which was brought him on the day of judgement for lacking in merit

Reacting to the allegation that the sum of N100 million was paid to a judge as bribe to deliver ruling in favor of Soludo, the National Vice President of the United Anambra Youth Assembly and the United Anambra Women Assembly U-AYA and U-AWA Chief Ogochukwu Egolum contended that;

We wish to state categorically that this is the antics of perpetual losers and jobbers whose stuck in trade is cheep blackmail and malicious slander.

We have it on good authority that some people who did not meet up with the APGA guide lines and constitutional provisions of contesting for the gubernatorial ticket of our party are desperate to  impose themselves as candidate.

.

Anambra state government has more important projects to invest public funds that waisting tax payers money on bribery and the Anambra state judges are men and women of integrity that cannot be influenced by anyone.

These Interlopers have made several attempts at bribing the judges with a whopping sum of N500 million but failed now they have out of frustration decided to blackmail our governor.; he said.