A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, has sacked the Lawmaker representing Ibaji Constituency, in the Kogi State House of Assembly, Atule Egbunu, of the All Progressives Congress, APC, on Friday.
Egbunu who was declared winner of the bye-election, on account of his 8,515 votes, was removed as a Lawmaker, on the ground that he was unlawfully nominated by the APC as its Candidate.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, while delivering the judgement in the suit instituted by an APC Chieftain, Joseph Enemona, against the APC and 4 others, declared Daniel Enefola of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as the Lawmaker for Ibaji Constituency, having come second with 4,564 votes in the December 5, 2020, bye-election.
Enemona, a State House of Assembly Aspirant, on the platform of the APC, had dragged the party before the Federal High Court, challenging the legality of the September 3, 2020, primary election claimed to have been conducted by his party.
His grouse, among others, was that the party unlawfully excluded 6 other Aspirants from the primary election, and also did not allow Delegates to vote at the poll.
The Plaintiff further asserted that while the law stipulates that the primary election be conducted at the party’s Secretariat, in Onyedega, the APC Officials allegedly conducted a purported primary election in a Mall.
He further contended that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, was not given 21 days notice before the purported primary election, as mandatorily required by Section 85 of Electoral Act, 2010.
He further hinged his case on the ground that while the APC guidelines stipulates direct primary election, the APC Officials manipulated the guidelines, and purportedly used the indirect system to pick the purported Candidate.
He therefore, demanded that the purported nomination of Egbunu be voided, and another primary election be conducted.
However, Justice Ekwo, after reviewing the submissions by parties in the matter, agreed that the APC did not conduct a primary election known to law.
The Judge held that while 7 Aspirants were to participate in the primary election, the party unlawfully maneuvered the system, and made the participation for a single Candidate.
The Federal High Court also held that the APC ran foul of the law, by conducting the purported primary election outside the party’s Secretariat, as required by law.
The court also faulted the purported substitution done between Matthew Oguche and Atule Egbunu, on the ground that Oguche was not one of the legitimate Aspirants before the election.
Justice Ekwo, therefore, declared the purported APC primary election as illegal, unlawful, unconstitutional, null and void, and subsequently set it aside.
He said that since the time for the primary and nomination of Candidates had lapsed, the Candidate of the party which came second in the December 5, 2020, bye-election should be inaugurated as the Lawmaker for Ibaji Constituency.
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