By Austin Ogwuda

ASABA – AN Abuja High Court, has held that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has no power, as an electoral umpire to “unilaterally withdraw the name of former Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Dr. Olisa Imegwu, from the list of candidates contesting the  National Assembly’s election on the platform of the  Democratic Peoples Party, DPP.

INEC had earlier withdrawn the name of Imegwu and substituted same with one Mr. Eugene Okolocha as the candidate of DPP for the Ndokwa/Ukwuani Federal constituency in the forthcoming election.

But Imegwu along with  his party, DPP, headed to  court. They had  sought the  reversal of the arrangement since he, Imegwu was said to have been validly nominated by the party.

In his ruling, trial judge in the matter, Justice Gebriel Kolawole, said that “INEC being an electoral umpire, has no right, duty or powers to unilaterally withdraw the name of  Imegwu and replace it with the name of  Okolocha as the duly nominated candidate of DPP for the House of Representatives election to represent the Ndokwa/Ukwuani Federal constituency of Delta State.”

He court ordered, “that an order is hereby made, compelling  INEC to accept the nomination of  Imegwu by DPP as its candidate for the Federal House of Representatives election to represent the Ndokwa/Ukwuani Federal constituency of Delta State of Nigeria.”