COURT NULLIFIES DELTA APC GOVERNORSHIP PRIMARY

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A Federal High Court sitting in Asaba has nullified the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary election which held in Delta state.

Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court gave the ruling on Thursday.

The plaintiff, Honourable Victor Ochei, through his councel, Ahmed Rahi (SAN),  in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1085/2018, prayed the court to rule that the gubernatorial primary election which held in the state on the 30th of September, 2018, was illegal and unlawful because the delegates were unknown to the law.

Recall that in November 2018, counsel to the third Defendant, Great Ogboru, Nelson Imoh, had objected to Ochei’s suit because it was not initiated by due process, insisting that the court has no jurisdiction to entertain the case as constituted.

He had posited that the procedure for the enforcement of an extant judgment of court in an event of an alleged disobedience there from is as provided for under Section 66 (f); Section 72 of the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act; Order ix Rules (13) (1) & (2) of the Judgment (Enforcement) Rules made pursuant to the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act.

Imoh submitted that the consent judgment of Hon Justice A. Chikere delivered on the 19th day of June, 2018, is an existing judgment that has not been appealed against nor set aside.

Therefore, Imoh held that the present court is a court of coordinate jurisdiction and at par with the court of Honourable Justice A.I. Chikere.

The third defendant stated that all the reliefs as contained in the plaintiff’s Originating Summons were reliefs not founded on law nor capable of sustaining the Originating Summons.

He pointed out that Articles 7 & 20 of the All Progressives Congress (APC) constitution 2012 (as amended) was substantially and wholly complied with by the third defendant/applicant, as well as first and second defendants in the conduct of the Governorship primaries of the APC that produced Ogboru as the flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 Governorship Election in Delta State.

In addition, he said the case of Victor Ochei was brought in bad faith, stressing “There is no reasonable cause of action disclosed against the third defendant\applicant in the plaintiff‘s Originating Summons.

The plaintiff, who participated fully in the said primaries of the 30th of September, 2018 of the second defendant, had delegates’ votes counted and assigned to him by the Delta State Governorship primaries Chairman assigned by the second defendant’s National Executive Council, cannot turn around to complain of non-compliance with the conduct of the said Governorship primaries in Delta state.

“Issues of disputed facts in contention are not maintainable by way of an Originating Summons, therefore the  case of the plaintiff is speculative and an arrant abuse of the process of this honourable court,” Imoh concluded.

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