Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja has nullified Senator Andy Uba’s participation in the Governorship Election held in Anambra State on November 6 this year.
In a judgment on Monday, the Judge held that Uba was never a candidate in the election having emerged from an illegally conducted primary election by All Progressives Congress (APC).
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Justice Ekwo added that the plaintiff, George Moghalu succeeded in proving that the APC did not conduct a valid primary election from which Uba claimed to have emerged as the party’s candidate.
The judge further ordered Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to delete Uba from its record as a candidate in the election and ordered the APC to refund to Moghalu, the sum of N22.5 million, which is the amount he paid for expression of interest and nomination forms since the party failed to conduct a valid primary.
George Moghalu, an aspirant in the APC primary election had challenged the process and the outcome of the primary election that produced UBA as the party’s candidate.
Moghalu had, in July, filed the suit at the court, seeking an order removing Uba and the APC from the list of gubernatorial candidates and political parties partaking in the Anambra governorship election on the grounds that the party failed to conduct a valid primary election.
At the Direct Primary which has now been annulled Uba emerged winner with 230,201 votes while his closest rival, Johnbosco Onunkwo polled a total of 28,746 votes. George Moghalu had 18,596 votes.
Anambra Governorship election which was held on November 8, 2021, saw the emergence of Charles Soludo, candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as the state governor.
Candidates of Peoples Democratic Party (Mr Valentine Ozigbo) and Young Progressives Party (Senator Ifeanyi Ubah) each won a local government but the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Andy Uba, was unable to win any local government in the election.
Soludo secured 112,229 votes, twice more than his closes rival – PDP’s Ozigbo to be returned as winner of the election.
Ozigbo had 53,807 votes while the other two frontline contenders – Uba and Ubah scored 43,285 and 21,261 votes respectively.
