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APC Kicks As Court Sacks Abia Gov Candidate
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A Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday declared former Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Dr Uchechukwu Ogah, as the duly elected governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Abia.
Justice Binta Nyako, in a judgment, upheld the direct primary election that produced Ogah as APC’s candidate, having been monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Justice Nyako invalidated the candidacy of Chief Ikechi Emenike, who was earlier recognised by IINEC as the party’s candidate for the March 11, 2023 governorship poll.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Ogah, in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/95/2022, had sued High Chief Ikechi Emenike; APC; Senator Abdullahi Adamu, the party’s National Chairman; INEC and Daniel Eke as 1st to 5th defendants respectively.
In the amended originating summons filed August 22 by his team of lawyers led by D.D. Dodo, SAN, the ex-minister sought “a declaration that by virtue of Section 84(4) of the Electoral Act 2022, the direct primaries held by the 2nd defendant (APC) and monitored by the 4th defendant (INEC) was in substantial compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 on the conduct of primary elections for the nomination of governorship candidate for the 2nd defendant.
“A declaration that having conducted its direct primaries in line with Section 84(4) of the Electoral Act and having had same monitored by the 4th defendant, the 2nd defendant was not at liberty to conduct any other primaries for the nomination of a candidate for the Abia State Governorship contest in 2023.”
Ogah, among other prayers, urged the court to direct the APC to forward his name to INEC forthwith as its duly nominated candidate for the 2023 Abia governorship poll.
Delivering her judgment, the judge agreed with the plaintiff (Ogar) and ordered the party to forward his name to INEC as the duly elected Abia governorship candidate for the 2023 election.
Nyako, who invalidated the indirect election that produced Emenike as the party’s candidate, also directed the electoral umpire to recognise Ogah’s name as the duly elected APC’s candidate.
Reacting to the judgment, the Legal Adviser of the state APC, Vigilus Nwankwo, said the Appeal Court had already affirmed Emenike as the duly elected candidate of Abia APC, hence the judgment of a lower court cannot alter the status quo.
“In the eye of the law Ikechi Emenike still remains the candidate of APC in Abia,” he said, adding that the said judgment delivered by Justice Nyako “cannot be enforced or executed until the final pronouncement by the Supreme Court on the subject matter”.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja had on October 14, 2022 upheld the judgment of the Abia State High Court presided by Justice Benson Anya which had on June 24, 2022 affirmed the candidature of Emenike in Suit No HUM/31/2022: Ikechi Emenike vs APC & 2 ORS.
The Appellate Court gave the affirmation while dismissing the application filed by Obinna Oriaku Eze, seeking to appeal against the judgment delivered on September 2, 2022 by the Appeal Court, Owerri Division in Appeal No. CA/OW/269/2022.
“The law is trite that judgments of the appellate courts bind the court and parties,” Nwankwo said, adding that “the judgment of the Federal High Court cannot override and is not superior to the said three judgments of the Court of Appeal”.
The Punch
The Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa, has accused a former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, of deliberately planning the killing of people in Southern Kaduna.
Musa made the allegation while fielding questions on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Thursday.
The minister said El-Rufai’s administration created deep divisions in Kaduna State, alleging that the situation made it difficult for residents from Southern Kaduna to live freely in the northern part of the State and vice versa.
According to him, the administration of the current governor, Uba Sani, has made deliberate efforts to restore unity and rebuild trust among residents of the State.
“We know how it was when El-Rufai was there; it was toxic,” Musa said.
“El-Rufai did a lot of terrible things in Kaduna State. He divided the country, the State, into two. In that, if you are from the South, you cannot go to the North and live. Those ones from the North were moving to the South.
“Governor Sani within one year has been able to dissolve all that. You see, now everybody is free, everybody has a say. It’s not 100%. Let me tell you, it’s not 100%, but you can see that he’s making deliberate effort in uniting the state.”
Speaking on the feelings of people in Southern Kaduna towards the former governor, Musa said the people remained deeply pained over killings recorded in the area during El-Rufai’s tenure.
He alleged that El-Rufai deliberately planned the killing of people in the region.
“Well, I don’t know if unhappy is an issue. I think if there’s anything worse than unhappy, we can never be happy with somebody who has deliberately planned for the killing of our people,” Musa said.
“I mean, when you look at it, if you look at his videos, you know, his speeches, he was very proud of what he did.
“He told us he paid bandits. He told us he did this, he did that. He didn’t hide it. He was that arrogant to come out and tell people that this was what he did.”
The Defence Minister said residents of Southern Kaduna were still traumatised by the killings that occurred during the period, adding that the security situation in the area had improved under the current administration.
“The Southern Kaduna people are still very pained. Of course, definitely. I mean, if you look at the number of killings that was done there and what is going on now, you can’t compare at all,” he said.
Musa further accused El-Rufai of denying some people opportunities during his administration and alleged that the former governor’s policies affected even people from his own part of the state.
“I can tell you what he has done to people living in Kaduna from his own area. He did a lot of things that I’m sure even him is not proud of,” he added.
The minister, however, called on Nigerians to reject politicians who exploit religion, ethnicity and other differences to divide the country.
“We should get politicians that want to unite Nigeria. For me, any individual who is using either religion, tribe, creed, or anything to divide the state can never be a friend; can never be somebody we look up to,” Musa said.
“We shouldn’t have those kind of ones in government. Anybody who is using religion or tribe or whatever to divide Nigeria is an enemy of the State.”
President Bola Tinubu departed Abuja, the nation’s capital on Sunday for Europe to begin a three-week vacation as part of his annual leave.
Presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, in a release disclosed that Tinubu’s first stop will be London, United Kingdom.
The President is expected to return home after the working vacation to join the hectic campaign for the January 2027 election.
Vice President Kashim Shettima had earlier this month went on two-week leave, his first since the Tinubu government assumed office over three years ago. He has since returned.
President Bola Tinubu has raised concerns with the African Union (AU) over repeated xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks against Africans and other foreign nationals in South Africa.
Tinubu urged African leaders to take collective action and include the issue on the agenda of the AU’s 40th Ordinary Session, scheduled for January 2027.
The president’s position was presented by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the 21st Extraordinary Session of the AU Assembly in Luanda, Angola.
Tinubu called on African leaders to renew their commitment to protecting the safety, dignity and rights of all Africans across the continent.
He said: “Nigeria wishes to express its concern over the recurring xenophobic and Afrophobic attacks against Africans and other nationals in South Africa.
“While recognising South Africa’s sovereign right to enforce its immigration laws and acknowledging its contributions to the continent, Nigeria stresses that such attacks undermine African solidarity, unity and peaceful coexistence, and require urgent collective attention.”
He added: “It is on this note that Nigeria calls on this august Assembly to place the matter on the agenda of the upcoming 40th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly, scheduled for January 2027, for consideration and appropriate action.”
The president also urged the AU to strengthen efforts to tackle xenophobia and Afrophobia across the continent.
He stressed that “dialogue, preventive diplomacy, and collective action remained essential to preserving African unity.”
On Africa’s broader security challenges, Nigeria supported the adoption of the Luanda Action Plan as a way to improve conflict prevention.
Tinubu argued that preventing conflicts would be more sustainable and less expensive than dealing with them after they have started.
“For Nigeria, conflict prevention remains more cost-effective and sustainable than conflict management,” President Tinubu said.
He also warned that separate and uncoordinated peace efforts, as well as growing foreign involvement through military forces, mercenaries and private defence companies, could weaken Africa’s ability to manage its own conflicts.
Tinubu further called on countries that manufacture and export weapons to work more closely with African governments to prevent weapons and ammunition from being diverted to terrorists and other armed groups.
The president said the AU already has strong systems for preventing and resolving conflicts, but limited trust and poor implementation have continued to reduce their effectiveness.
