By Emma Amaize, Austin Ogwuda & Bulou Kosin

ASABA – A Federal High Court sitting in Asaba, Delta State, yesterday, held that the gubernatorial candidate of the Democratic People’s Party, DPP, Chief Great Ogboru, was not validly nominated for the January 6, 2011 governorship re-run election in the state, the result of which he is currently challenging at the election tribunal also sitting in Asaba.

Trial judge, Justice I. Buba, in his judgment, held that Ogboru was not nominated by 50 registered members of his party, as provided for in the Electoral Act.

The Court of Appeal, Benin City, Edo State had in November, 2010, ordered a re-run election in the state after Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s election in the 2007 governorship election was nullified.

However, Chief Ogboru, who reacted to the judgment on phone, said he will appeal the verdict, describing it as “unfortunate and irresponsible”.

The governorship re-run tribunal was scheduled to hear the address of the respective counsel to Governor Uduaghan, Chief Ogboru and INEC today. But it was not clear, yesterday,  whether the tribunal will go on with the matter in view of the High Court judgment.

The judgment followed the suit by the chairman of the PDP in the state, Chief Peter Nwaboshi and his party, challenging the eligibility of Chief Ogboru to contest the election on grounds that he was not validly nominated for the poll by DPP.

Reacting to the judgment, Ogboru said he had  travelled a “similar road” in the past, adding that the judgment was not a “big issue” as far as he was concerned.