The court of Appeal, Abuja division has struck out the judgment delivered by justice Agatha Okeke of the federal high court Uyo which nullified the nomination of Akanimo Udofia as the governorship candidate of the APC in Akwa Ibom.
The court ordered INEC to recognize Akanimo Udofia, as the authentic candidate of the APC for the Akwa Ibom state governorship election.
The order by the appellate court is in line with granting all the reliefs sought by Mr Udofia in his appeal
On 14th November Justice Agatha Okeke ordered the APC in Akwa Ibom state to conduct a fresh governorship primary within two weeks but barred Akanimo Udofia from participating in the new primary while nullifying his election.
Ita Enang, a former presidential aide to former president Goodluck Jonathan who was an aspirant in the primary had challenged the outcome of the said primary election
Mr Enang had prayed the court to declare him the validly elected candidate of the party arguing that Mr Udofia was not a member of the party as of the time of the primary.
In a three-member panel of the appellate court led by Justice Elfreda Williams – Dawodu held that the lower court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit
The lower court wrongly assumed jurisdiction over the suit wherein Mr Enang filed the suit outside the mandatory 14 days
In another judgment, the court upheld the judgment delivered by justice Agatha Okeke of the federal high court Uyo, which dismissed the suit filed by Akan Okon challenging the election of Umo Eno as the candidate of the PDP on grounds of forgery.
Mr Okon had prayed the court to disqualify Mr Eno on grounds that he forged a WAEC certificate which he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission for the 2023 governorship election in Akwa Ibom.
Justice Agatha Okeke dismissed the suit for want of merit and awarded N15 million against the plaintiff.
Delivering judgment a three-member panel of the appellate court led by Justice Elfreda William-Dawodu upheld the judgment of the lower court, save for the award made.
The court disagreed with the lower court on the award of N15 million made and reduced it to N5 million.
The justices of the appellate court told all parties in the two appeals that the copies of the judgment are ready for them to go through as the judgments were delivered in an abridged manner to save time
