The Supreme Court has sacked Senators Andy Uba, Stella Oduah and Uche Ekwunife as well as 11 members of the House of Representatives representing Anambra State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), over a pre-election matter.
Delivering judgment Friday, Justice Binta Ogunbiyi held that the lawmakers were illegally foisted on the PDP by an unrecognised state executive of the party led by Chief Chukwudi Okasa.
Ogunbiyi held that the Chief Ejike Oguebego-led executive was the only constitutionally recognised leadership of the PDP to conduct the party’s primaries.
Ogunbiyi ruled that the candidates who emerged from the primaries conducted by the Oguebego-led group were the true representatives from the state to occupy the vacant seats.
“The decision of the apex court is done to restore justice and discourage impunity in the polity. The judgment also lays out the proper procedures for selection of political parties legislative candidates,’’ she held.
With the ruling, Mr. Chris Uba, Sen. Andy Uba’s younger brother and Prince John Emeka are expected to take over the seats vacated by Uba and Oduah respectively.
A bye-election previously scheduled would be conducted to fill the senatorial seat occupied by Sen. Uche Ekwunife, who was sacked a few weeks ago by the Court of Appeal.
Also, all aspirants elected to represent the eleven federal constituencies in the state at the primaries conducted by the Ejike Oguebego led state executive would replaced the sacked representatives.
In December 2014, the Federal High Court had ruled that the Ejike Oguebego-led executive was the only constitutionally recognised leadership of the party in Anambra that could conduct the PDP primaries.
Despite that ruling, the parallel state executive of the PDP led by Chief Chukwudi Okasa went ahead to conduct parallel primaries.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that by this judgment, the apex court reaffirmed the verdict of the Federal High Court declaring that the Oguebego-led executive had the sole right to conduct the primaries in that State.
The National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) supervised the primaries conducted by Oguebego’s executive on Dec 6 and Dec. 7, 2014.
At the end of the exercise, the NWC of the PDP and INEC declared Chris Uba winner for Anambra South, Prince John Emeka for Anambra North, and Annie Okonkwo for Anambra Central.
