The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has effected the judgment of Justice James Kolawole Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt by removing the logo of the APC and names of all its candidates for the National Assembly election from its documents in Rivers State.
The list of political parties and candidates participating in the National Assembly elections has just been published by INEC with APC missing.
INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Rivers state, Obo Efangha said the Commission had to obey the court order.
Justice James Kolawole Omotosho had in his judgment last week issued a restraining order on INEC not to recognize the APC and its candidates for the 2019 general elections in Rivers State.
Justice Omotosho also ordered the APC and all its candidates to stop campaigning and canvassing for votes.
We will keep you informed as events continue to unfold
Meanwhile On January 8th , 2019
A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, yesterday, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to remove all candidates of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State from the 2019 general election.
Trial judge, Justice Kolawole Omotosho handed down the order to INEC in its judgment in the suit by the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, praying the court not to recognise any candidate of the APC in the state. Justice Omotosho, also ordered APC not to recognise, sponsor, nominate candidates or canvas for vote for all the candidates ahead of the general election. The judge, who relied on earlier ruling and orders of Justice Chiwendu Nworgu of the Rivers State High Court, maintained that the APC acted in disobedience to court orders and therefore, cannot benefit from same.
The court on whether another political party has the legal backing to interfere in another party’s internal affairs held that the newly expanded locus as amended in Electoral Act allows other political parties to challenge the affairs of another, if it sensed errors. Counsel for candidates of APC, Emenike Ebete, said his clients would challenge the ruling as PDP’s counsel, Dike Udenna, lauded the court as representing the interest of the common man and urged INEC to comply with the ruling for the sake of justice. Meanwhile, same court, same day refused to grant separate application by Senator Magnus Abe and 43 candidates of Peter Odike’s faction of Rivers APC, seeking to be declared as authentic candidates of the party in the state. The court held that the plaintiffs do not have legal standing to the effect that they placed their request on the ruling of the state High Court which nullified primaries done by the APC in the state. The plaintiffs, the court held, could not prove that the direct primaries they cconducted were monitored and supervised by National Execution Council of the APC, adding that they did not participate in valid primaries, so cannot be considered. The court restrained INEC from recognising the candidates of the APC in the state for the 2019 general election, until the ruling of the court was set aside by a higher court.
