Just In: Court Sacks Imo APC Reps Member-Elect, Declares New Winner

A Federal High Court in Owerri on Monday ordered the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) to issue a Certificate of Return to Kingsley Echendu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as member-elect for Nkwerre/Nwangele/Njaba/Isu federal constituency of Imo State.

This is following the sack of Hon. Ugonna Ozurigbo of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Justice P.A. Rigime delivered the judgment in a suit where neither the PDP nor its candidate was a party to the suit.

The court said that Harrison Nwadike, who is the plaintiff, was the “rightful winner” of the APC primary election in the federal constituency.

Nwadike had taken his party, APC, and INEC to court over the submission of Ozurigbo’s name as the candidate of the party.

Nwadike, who prayed the court to declare him as the APC’s rightful candidate, contended that automatic tickets were unknown to the Constitution.

The court, in its judgment, agreed with the petitioner that automatic tickets were unknown to law.

The justice ordered INEC to issue the PDP candidate, Echendu, who came second in the general election, with a Certificate of Return as the rightful winner of the election.