Court sacks APC lawmaker in Kogi, declares PDP candidate winner

A Federal High Court, Abuja, Friday, sacked Atule Egbunu, the lawmaker representing Ibaji constituency in the Kogi state House of Assembly on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Egbunu, who was declared winner in a bye-election of December 5, 2020 with the highest votes of 8, 515 was sscked as a lawmaker by the court on the grounds that he was unlawfully nominated by his party, the APC.

Justice Inyang Ekwo, while delivering judgment in a suit instituted by a member of the party, Joseph Enemona, against APC and four others, declared Daniel Enefola of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the lawmaker for Ibaji constituency, having come second with 4, 564 votes in the bye-election.

Enemona, a state House of Assembly aspirant, on the platform of the APC had dragged the party through the Federal High Court, challenging the legality of the September 3, 2020 primary election conducted by his party.

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His grouse, among others, was that the party unlawfully excluded six other aspirants from the primary election and also did not allow delegates to vote during the primary.

Plaintiff further asserted that while the law stipulated that the primary election be conducted at the party secretariat in Onyedega, the APC officials allegedly conducted a purported primary election in a mall.

He further contended that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was not given 21 days’ notice before the said primary election, as mandatorily required by Section 85 of Electoral Act, 2010.

Plaintiff further hinged his case on the grounds that while the APC guidelines stipulated direct primary election, rather the APC officials manipulated the guidelines and used indirect system to pick candidate.

He therefore demanded that the nomination of Egbunu be voided and another primary election conducted

Agreeing with the plaintiff, Justice Ekwo, after reviewing submissions by parties in the matter on Friday, agreed that the APC did not conduct a primary election known to law.

The Judge held that while seven aspirants were to participate in the primary election, the party unlawfully manoeuvered the system to pave way for a single candidate.

The court also held that the APC ran foul of the law by conducting the primary election outside the party secretariat as required by law.

The court also faulted the substitution done between Matthew Oguche and Atule Egbunu on the grounds that Oguche was not one of the legitimate aspirants before the election.

Justice Ekwo, therefore, declared the APC primary election as illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional and subsequently set it aside.

Justice Ekwo said that since the time for primary and nomination had lapsed, the candidate who came second in the December 5, 2020 bye-election should be inaugurated as the lawmaker for Ibaji constituency.