…dismisses Uzodinma’s suit as lacking in merit

BY IKECHUKWU NNOCHIRI

ABUJA -An Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, yesterday, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to recognize Senator Osita Izunaso as the authentic candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for the Imo West senatorial district elections scheduled for Saturday, April 9.

The appellate court made the order on a day it dismissed as lacking in merit, an appeal lodged before it by Mr. Hope Uzodinma, challenging the Federal High Court judgment that had ab-initio affirmed Izunaso’s candidacy.

In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Jimi Olukayode Bada, yesterday, a three-man panel of Justices who presided over the matter, held that Izunaso, having won the National Assembly primary election that was conducted by the PDP in Imo West senatorial district on January 8, deserved to have his name returned to the INEC as the bona-fide candidate of the party as stipulated in section 37 (c) (ii) of the Electoral Act, 2010.

Consequently, the panel dismissed the contention of the appellant, Uzodinma, that trial Justice Abdul Kafarati of the High Court, erred in law in his judgment of January 28 that hitherto nullified his candidacy.

Adopting the judgment of the lower court, Justice Bada noted that the appellant was not eligible to take part and/or contest as an aspirant of the PDP in the said primary election, considering that the party’s screening panel earlier certified him unfit to participate in the exercise.

He maintained that the inability of the appellant to secure the necessary clearance from the party before partaking in the primary poll, rendered whatsoever result he garnered in the exercise a nullity, stressing that Uzodinma failed to present a convincing evidence before the appellate court to prove that he was duly cleared by either the National Working Committee, NWC, or any other relevant organ of the PDP to contest the January 8 primary elections in Imo West senatorial district.

He said:  “The pertinent question here is, did the National Working Committee, NWC, of the PDP meet and took a decision reversing the finding of the appeal panel that disqualified the appellant? The next question is did the NWC of the PDP meet, considered the appellant’s protest and cleared him as provided in the electoral guidelines?”