Appeal Court Upholds Uba, APC’s Disqualification from Anambra Poll

Alex Enumah

The Appeal Court, Abuja, yesterday, upheld the judgment of a Federal High Court, also in Abuja, which disqualified Senator Andy Uba and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) from participating in the recent governorship election in Anambra State, won by Professor Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

The appellate court, in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Danlami Zenchi,dismissed the appeals brought by Uba and the APC against the judgment of the trial court for lacking merit.

Uba and the APC, in two separate appeals, had approached the appellate court to upturn the judgment of Justice Inyang Ekwo, which faulted the primary election that produced Uba and subsequently, disqualified their participation in the November 6 governorship poll.

The duo, in the suits marked CA/ABJ/CV/13/2022 and CA/ABJ/CV/36/2022, claimed that the trial court erred, when it arrived that the primary election that produced Uba was not conducted in accordance with the electoral laws and went ahead to void it.

They specifically prayed the court to set aside the decision of Justice Ekwo, delivered on December 20, 2021 and declare that they were qualified to participate in the election.

However, in their unanimous decision, the appellate court, in the judgment read by Justice Senchi, noted that the trial court was right in its verdict and resolved all the issues against the appellants.

The trial court had in its judgment, held that Uba was never a candidate in the poll, having emerged from an illegally conducted primary election by the APC.

The judge held that the plaintiff, George Moghalu, succeeded in proving that the APC did not conduct a valid primary election, which Uba claimed to have won as the party’s flag bearer in the November 6, 2021 election.

Consequently, he ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to delete Uba’s name from its record as a candidate in the election.

Justice Ekwo equally ordered the APC to refund to the plaintiff, the N22.5 million he paid for expression of interest and nomination forms since the party failed to conduct a valid primary.

Uba had emerged candidate of the APC at its primary election held on June 26, 2021.

But in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/648/2021, Moghalu, an aspirant in the APC primary election, challenged the process and the outcome of the primary election.

Moghalu contended that the APC did not comply with the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2010, the APC regulations and guidelines in the conduct of its governorship primary in Anambra State.