An All Progressives Congress governorship aspirant, Senator Ita Enang has headed to the Supreme Court to challenge the decision of the Court of Appeal Abuja Division, which had on January 19, 2023, dashed his governorship ambition in Akwa Ibom State.
Enang wants the Supreme Court to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to recognise him as standard bearer of the APC for the forthcoming governorship election in the state.
The appellate court had allowed as “competent and meritorious,” the appeal by Akanimo Udofia, which challenged the judgment of a Federal High Court Uyo, that nullified his emergence as the Akwa Ibom APC gubernatorial candidate.
Udofia won the May 26, 2022, Akwa Ibom State APC governorship primary election, defeating Enang and others.
However, in the appeal which predicates on eight grounds, Enang through his team of lawyers led by Mr Robert Emukpoeruo, SAN is equally urging the apex court to set aside the judgement of the lower court.
He contended that the appellate court panel, led by Justice Elfreda Williams-Daudu, erred in law and occasioned a grave miscarriage of justice, when it allowed Udofia’s appeal and nullified an earlier judgement of the Uyo Division of the Federal High Court, which had on November 14, 2022, affirmed him as the authentic candidate of the party for the governorship contest.
The appellate court “came to a perverse decision,” when it held that the trial court merely brushed aside a preliminary objection that both Udofia and the APC raised against his substantive suit marked FHC/UY/CS/114/2022, Enang said.
He argued that Article 31.3(ii) of the APC constitution made the grant of waiver by the National Working Committee, NWC, of the party, subject to the approval of the National Executive Committee, NEC, of the party.
More so, he said there was no evidence to show that either the NEC or the NWC, held any meeting to approve the grant of a waiver to Udofia.
Consequently, he urged the apex court to invalidate the purported waiver that was signed by the National Secretary of the APC, Senator Iyiola Omisore.
He faulted the appellate court for dismissing the suit he entered against Udofia’s nomination on the premise that it failed to comply with provisions of Sections 97 and 98 of the Sheriff and Civil Process Act, and therefore invalid.
Senator Enang argued that Udofia was not a bonafide member of the APC, saying it was wrong for the appellate court to okay his nomination on the ground that he was granted a waiver by the party to contest the primary election that was held on May 26, 2022.
The appellant is among other things, seeking an order of the Supreme Court, to declare him as the governorship candidate of the 1st Respondent (APC) in Akwa Ibom State, “being the only member of the 1st Respondent that scored the highest number of votes at the primary of 26th May 2022”.
An order restoring the Federal High Court judgement was delivered on November 14, 2022.
As well as, “An order directing the 3rd Respondent (INEC) to receive and publish the name of the Appellant as the candidate of the 1st Respondent for the gubernatorial election in Akwa Ibom State.”
No date has been fixed for the case.
