By  Cajetan Mmuta
The High Court sitting in Awka, the Anambra State capital on Monday ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) to list Senator Ugochukwu Uba as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for the November 6 Governorship election in the state.

Justice Obiora Nwabunike of High Court 5, gave the order in his judgment in a suit filed by Senator Ugochukwu Uba against the INEC, PDP, and Valentine Ozigbo (as respondents/defendants).

He also ordered the “defendants” to pay the applicant (Senator Ugochukwu Uba) the sum of N10 million as expenses he incurred in prosecuting the matter in court.

He held that PDP’s governorship primary held at Professor Dora Akunyili Women Development Centre, Awka, where Mr. Valentine Ozigbo was elected as PDP candidate was held in breach of an existing order of  Court.

Justice Nwabunike held that it was the PDP faction which conducted its primary at the Paul University, Awka, simultaneously on June 26, the other faction that produced Ozigbo, that obeyed the subsisting order of an Abuja High Court presided by Justice A. O. Adeniyi.

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He noted that Justice Adeniyi had ordered the PDP to conduct the governorship primary using “Congress delegates list” but, instead of obeying the order of the Court, the national leadership of the PDP used “super delegates”.

Nwabunike further held that though that 1999 ( as amended), Electoral Act 2020 ( as amended) as well as PDP constitution gave PDP National Executive Committee, (NEC) powers to make guidelines for the nomination of candidate of the party for an election”, stressing that such power” could not be exercised in defiance to a subsisting order of a Court.

Mr. Emeka Nwankwo represented Senator Ugochukwu Uba at the Court while Alex Ejesieme, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, (SAN).

Counsel to Valentine Ozigbo was absent.