By Cajetan Mmuta
The Court of Appeal sitting in Awka, the Anambra state on Monday struck out an application challenging the judgment of an Awka High Court in the state which declared a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Professor Chukwuma Soludo as the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in the coming November 6, Governorship election.
One of the other two claimants to the APGA governorship ticket, Chief Edozie Njoku, with one Okoro Benedict had approached the Court of Appeal presided by Justice Nwosu-Iheme with prayers seeking against the judgment of Justice Charles Okaa of an Awka High Court.
Justice Okaa had on July 19th affirmed Soludo as an authentic candidate of APGA in the coming governorship election.
According to the High Court in the suit brought before it by a factional APGA national chairman, Chief Victor Oye, Prof Soludo remains an authentic candidate of APGA in the Anambra state gubernatorial election, and that Chief Victor Oye is the legally recognized APGA national chairman.
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But, following Justice Okaa’s judgment; Chief Edozie Njoku and Mr. Okoro Benedict approached the AppealCourt presided over Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme wherein they sought the following reliefs to wit: order of the Appellate Court staying execution of Justice Okaa’s Court judgment; order of the Appellate Court to set aside Court rules and grant the appellants (Njoku and Okoro) permission to compile and transmit judgment of Justice Okaa to the Court of Appeal, and, to make an order granting their application an accelerated hearing.
The appellants were, however, later to withdraw their first motion, and, filed another motion which they felt would better serve them the necessary judicial process of getting justice in the appeal court.
The Court, however, consolidated the two motions.
Justice Nwosu-Iheme in her ruling in the consolidated motions, yesterday, dismissed applications as incompetent.
The court awarded the sum of N200,000, and, N250,000 respectively against the applicants who listed among others, Hon. Wilson Onyekwelu, APGA, etc, as respondents.
