From Chuks Collins, Awka
The Federal Court, Abuja would tomorrow (Nov 4,2021) read the judgement in th suit brought by Chief George Moghalu -a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Governorship aspirant in the forthcoming Nov 6 poll in Anambra state against the party and her assumed candidate, Senator Andy Uba.
Loading ...The verdict which has kept all party stalwarts on edge, apparently due to its precarious effect in the coming election has potentials of throwing a very big spanner in the Senator Uba’s works.
Moghalu who had aspired for the same APC Governorship ticket as Uba and twelve others said he was not satisfied of how Uba emerged candidate.
He had claimed that the party primary scheduled for June 26, 2021 did not follow the stipulated format at all, hence should be cancelled and the party and her flagbearer delisted from the Nov 6,2021 election.
He also alleged that the Electoral Act and the party’s (APC)guidelines were brazenly truncated in the purported primary claimed to have been conducted on June 26. Documents filed before the court by his counsel, Chief Chris Uche SAN, Chief Moghalu lamented that the called Nomination/Expression of Interest forms cost him and other aspirants a whopping N23 million each, whereas “no primary election known to law was conducted by the party.”
He had tendered copies of the official report of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which confirmed that no primary election was conducted within the time stipulated by law. In addition he cited Sec 87 of the Electoral Act and Guidelines of the party (APC) that outlined the time to conduct any primary election to be between 8 a.m and 4 p.m. of the given date.
He told the court that he and other delegates who had turned out to cast their votes, as well as INEC officials who came to monitor the process waited till 7pm on June 26, 2021 without seeing party officials billed to conduct the primary election as planned. That they all left the venue/s when the reality dawned on them that no election would be conducted.
Moghalu, as well as other chieftains and leaders of the party in the State said they were shocked when the following day the party announced that it had conducted a purported primary election and that one Emmanuel Andy Uba won. In the foregoing therefore he urged Justice Inyang Eden Ekwo to nullify the purported primary election and order a fresh one as there was no primary election by the party on June 26.
