The Supreme Court on Tuesday confirmed Mr. Akan Udofia as the duly elected All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom State.
The governorship election holds on Saturday, March 11 nationwide.
A former senator, Ita Enang, had sought to nullify Mr Udofia’s nomination as the governorship candidate of the party in the state.
Also read: Court defers judgement on Akwa Ibom APC Governorship crisis
Mr Enang had prayed the court to declare him as the authentic governorship flagbearer of the party on the ground that Mr Udofia was not an APC member as of May 27, 2022 when the party conducted the governorship primary.
But delivering judgement on Tuesday, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court led by Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, held that Mr Udofia was a bona fide member of the APC when it held the primary election.
Ms Kekere-Ekun said a political party has the “prerogative” to grant anyone membership waivers.
“I am in full agreement with the lower court that the 1st respondent (Mr Udofia) was a member of the 2nd respondent (APC) when he contested for the primary, and that the issue of a waiver is an internal affair of a party which the court cannot inquire into,” Ms Kekere-Ekun said.
The justice after affirming Mr Udofia’s candidacy further held that Mr Enang’s case collapsed.
“Having held that the 1st respondent duly participated in the primary election, the foundation of the appellant case collapsed.
“The appeal, in my view, was rightly dismissed by the lower court,” Ms Kekere-Ekun said.
Origin of the debacle
The Federal High Court in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital had, on November 14, 2022, set aside Mr Udofia’s nomination as the APC governorship candidate for the state.
The judge, Agatha Okeke, had ordered the APC to conduct a fresh primary within 14 days, but barred Mr Udofia from participating in the new election.
Dissatisfied with Ms Okeke’s decision, Mr Udofia filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
The appellate court on January 19 set aside the judgment of the lower court and restored his candidacy.
In its verdict, the appellate court faulted Ms Okeke’s judgement on the basis that the court erred in entertaining the matter in contravention of Sections 97 and 98 of the Sheriffs Act.
Dissatisfied with the decision, Mr Enang lodged an appeal at the Supreme Court.
INEC in Akwa Ibom had, on May 27, 2022, a day after the APC governorship primary, sent a report to its headquarters in Abuja that the APC did not hold its primary.
“We wish to report that the APC governorship primary scheduled to hold on Thursday, 26 May 2022 at the Sheergrace Arena, Nsikak Eduok Avenue, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State did not hold at all,” Mike Igini, the outgone resident electoral commissioner in the state had said in the letter.
Mr Igini had led the monitoring team of the Commission, together with the police commissioner in the state, to the venue to monitor the exercise but were informed that the APC election committee were held up by an angry group of party members who were engaging in a fight over the control of the primary election materials along a major road in Uyo.
The APC election committee members were later rescued by the State Security Service (SSS) who took them to their office that night.
Chairman of the election committee, Tunde Ajibulu, had told Mr Igini on phone that he was unable to leave the SSS office because he was traumatised and could not go ahead with the primary.
Mr Igini, after briefing reporters on the development, left the venue of the primary at about 10:30 p.m., but the material was later released to a faction of the party who conducted the primary around midnight at a different year.
Mr Udofia, who left the Peoples Democratic Party to join the APC in Akwa Ibom barely two weeks, stood election at 6 Ekpo Obot Street, Uyo.
Some APC members accused INEC of partisanship for failing to monitor the election at the location after the party was said to have written to the election umpire to monitor the election at the party’s secretariat.
Igini who was INEC Commissioner was said to have derecognized Stephen Ntukekpo’s faction that organized the primary on allegation that it was as ‘illegal’ rather he gave a stamp of approval to Austin Utuk’s faction, which he said he monitored the election.
When Udofia was declared winner of the primary election, INEC disassociated itself from him as the governorship candidate of the APC in the state.
