People's Democratic Party chieftains from Anambra, South-eastern part of Nigeria have won big in court today after a High Court in Abuja affirmed their mandates.
Stella Oduah
A law suit challenging the mandates of some prominent People's Democratic Party chieftains Senators Andy Ubah, Stella Oduah and others from Anambra as national and state assembly has been thrown out by the court of law for lack of credibility.
According to Premium Times, the presiding judge, Adeniyi Ademola upheld their mandates given by the Independent National Electoral Commission after victories in an electoral process. The suit was earlier filed by Senators Annie Okonkwo, Chris Ubah and 42 others who belong to an opposition faction of the party.
Mr. Ademola said the claim by the plaintiffs that they were the rightfully nominated candidates of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could not stand in the face of the law.
Mr. Ademola said this was because the plaintiffs emerged through an illegal nomination process, having been nominated unlawfully by the state executive of the PDP.
He held that the power to conduct primary election, nominate candidates and submit names of candidates to INEC was vested on the National Executive Committee (NEC) of a party. Mr. Ademola said that the plaintiffs, having emerged from a primary election conducted by the state executive of the PDP, submitted themselves to an act of illegality.
As such, he added that they could not at this point seek legal backing for such a nomination.