In a ruling on Wednesday, a Federal High Court in Abuja nullified the delegate list of the All Progressives Congress for the governorship primary election in Kogi State.
The ruling was based on a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/329/2023, filed by some aggrieved members of the party in Kogi, led by legal advocate, Realwan Okpanachi.
The list was presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission on February 7, 2023, for the party’s governorship primary election in the state.
However, Justice James Omotosho held that there was no evidence before the court to show that valid special ward congresses were held, from which the said delegates emerged.
The court also held that the APC failed to provide credible evidence that INEC monitored the congresses from which the list of delegates emerged.
As a result, Justice Omotosho restrained INEC from accepting and acting on the delegates list.
The court urged the APC in Kogi to conduct valid special ward congresses to elect delegates who will elect the party’s candidate for the governorship election or opt for any other mode of electing its candidate for the governorship election, should it decide not to conduct valid special ward congresses as ordered by the court.
Speaking after the ruling, Realwan Okpanachi expressed his satisfaction with the outcome of the case, saying “The judgement is victory for democracy and we are happy with it. The APC leadership in Kogi State should conduct a proper and credible congress to elect its delegates as stipulated by the constitution of the party.”
The APC is yet to respond to the ruling, but it is expected that the party will comply with the court’s order to conduct a valid special ward congress to elect delegates for the governorship primary election.
