The participation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Andy Uba, in the Nov. 6 Anambra governorship election was declared null and void by a Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday.
In a decision, Justice Inyang Ekwo ruled that the June 26 primary of the party that produced Uba as its standard-bearer was invalid.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Chief George Moghalu, an APC primary election aspirant, has challenged the process and outcome of the primary election that produced Uba as the party’s candidate.
Moghalu, the plaintiff, had sued the party, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Uba as the first, second, and third defendants, respectively.
In his decision, Justice Ekwo agreed with the plaintiff’s contentions that the June 26 primary election violated the provisions of the Electoral Act and the APC guidelines for conducting the exercise.
He determined that the plaintiff had successfully demonstrated that the primary election was not carried out in accordance with the law and the party’s guidelines.
“As a result, the plaintiff’s case succeeds on its merits,” he said.
Ekwo ruled that because the election was illegally conducted, the APC (1st defendant) could not benefit from the Nov. 6 election, which resulted in the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate, Prof. Charles Soludo, being declared the winner of the poll.
As a result of the non-inclusion of Moghalu’s name in the primary election and the conduct of the poll in violation of the Electoral Act and the party’s guidelines, the judge declared that the APC had no candidate in the Anambra governorship election.
“The 2nd defendant (INEC) is compelled to remove the names of the 1st and 3rd defendants from the November 6, Anambra governorship election,” he ruled.
Any election conducted in violation of the first defendant’s guideline, according to the judge, is null and void.
“The real issue was not whether accredited members of the first defendant voted on that day, but whether the election was conducted in accordance with the first defendant’s election guidelines,” he concluded.
He also stated that the police report evidence confirmed that the election was held outside of the time frame.
Ekwo, who described the APC’s primary as “crude and primitive,” ordered that the N22.5 million paid by Moghalu as expression of interest and nomination forms be refunded because the party did not follow the provisions of the law and its guidelines.
According to NAN, Moghalu filed the suit in July, seeking an order removing Uba and the APC from the list of gubernatorial candidates and political parties participating in the Anambra governorship election because the party failed to hold a valid primary election.
He also sought N122.5 million in damages, including a refund of the fee paid for the expression of interest and nomination forms, as well as N100 million “for the breach of contract to commence and conclude the primary election.”
INEC chose Uba, the winner of the APC primary election, to be the party’s candidate.
According to the plaintiff’s affidavit in support of the suit, the APC failed to complete the selection and nomination process for its candidate for the Nov. 6 governorship election.
He stated that the APC had decided to use a direct primary, which is why the party released a list of designated venues for the exercise.
Moghalu stated that the party received N22.5 million from him for the expression of interest form and nomination form, “to allow him to participate in the primary election exercise.”
He also stated that a day before the primaries, he was informed that the APC electoral committee would address all aspirants and stakeholders in Akwa.
“Shockingly, on June 26, 2021, the said election committee was nowhere to be seen in Anambra; no accreditation of voters occurred; no voting and collation of ballots occurred in all 326 wards of Anambra state,” he added.
According to him, the committee “announced election results it did not conduct, and which forgery was credited to the third defendant as the winner of the primary election scheduled for emergence as APC’s candidate in the November 6 governorship election in Anambra.”
Moghalu also claimed that the party failed to invite the INEC in accordance with the law, which requires the commission to monitor the election.