By Deborah Onyofufeke
Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, yesterday, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to accept and publish the name of former Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio, as the candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) for Akwa Ibom North/West Senatorial District in next year’s election.
Justice Nwite, in his judgment, held that INEC acted illegally by refusing to accept and publish Akpabio’s name, even when it was sent to it by the APC as its candidate.
The judge found that Akpabio was validly nominated as the Akwa–Ibom North/West Senatorial District candidate of the APC from the primary conducted by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) on June 9, 2022.
He declared that INEC “is bound by the provisions of Section 29 (3) of the Electoral Act, to publish only the personal particulars of the candidate of the first plaintiff for the Akwa-Ibom North/West Senatorial District elections in the person of the second plaintiff (Akpabio) as received from the first plaintiff.
The judge noted that, despite being invited and notified, INEC, chose not to attend the validly conducted primary of the APC for the Akwa–Ibom North–West Senatorial District, where Akpabio was elected and nominated, but decided to term the primary illegal.
Justice Nwite also held that INEC’s claim that it had monitored an illegal primaries and could not monitor the one conducted by the APC’s NWC, was not tenable and unlawful because it is only the NWC of a political party that can conduct valid primaries.
The judge, therefore, ordered INEC to publish the name and particulars of Akpabio as the candidate of the APC for the Akwa-Ibom North/West Senatorial District in the 2023 general elections as nominated and submitted to it by the party.
The judgment was on the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1011/2022 filed and prosecuted by a team of lawyers, Umeh Kalu (SAN), Valentine Offia, Imo Akpan and Adekunle Kosoko, for the APC and Akpabio, who are the first and second plaintiffs respectively in the suit and INEC, the sole defendant, was represented by Alhassan Umar, (SAN).
The judge noted that except nominated, submitted and received from the first plaintiff (APC), INEC cannot publish any other name or particulars of any other candidate as candidate of the APC for the Akwa-ibom North/West Senatorial District elections,
He, therefore, rejected INEC’s claim that it declined to monitor the primary conducted by APC on June 9, which produced Akpabio, as the party’s candidate, because it had monitored the one conducted on May 27.
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The judge faulted INEC for electing to monitor the May 27 primary, conducted by an illegal faction of the party led by Augustine Ekanem as against the June 9 primary authorised conducted by the APC NWC, an organ of the party authorised by law to conduct such primaries.
