By Chidi Nkwopara

OWERRI — The crisis rocking the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in Imo State, has deepened as one of its chieftains, Chief Jude Iheakanwa, last week, dragged the party, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and Mr. Paschal Nneji, to the Federal High Court, Owerri, challenging the substitution of his name as the Imo East senatorial candidate of the party in the forthcoming general elections.

The angry party loyalist is, through his counsel, Chief Okey Ehieze, urging the court in suit number, FHC/OW/252/2014, to restore his senatorial candidature.

Iheakanwa is equally seeking a declaration that being the sole contestant, he was the winner of the APGA primaries conducted on December 6, 2014, for electing the party’s candidate for Imo East senatorial district at the 2015 general elections.

He is also praying for “a mandatory order directing the second respondent, APGA, to forward the plaintiff’s name to the first defendant, INEC, as its candidate for Imo East senatorial district.

While urging the court to set aside the submission of Mr. Nneji’s name to INEC by APGA as its candidate for the 2015 election, Chief Iheakanwa also asked for an order restraining INEC from according recognition to Nneji as APGA candidate for the senatorial election.

Chief Iheakanwa is also seeking for an order restraining Mr. Nneji “from parading, holding out or presenting himself and allowing himself to be so paraded, held out or presented as the second defendant’s (APGA) candidate for the Imo East senatorial district for the 2015 general elections.”

In his 26-point affidavit in support of his motion, Chief Iheakanwa averred that neither Nneji nor any other person obtained form, was screened and contested the primaries with him.

“Unless restrained by this honorable court, the first defendant, INEC, will go ahead to publish the name of the third defendant, Nneji, as the second defendant, APGA, candidate for Imo East senatorial district in the general elections of 2015, hereby excluding me from contesting the election as the candidate of the second defendant,” Iheakanwa averred.