ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has struck out the judgment of a Federal High Court nullifying the candidacy of 16 All Progressives Congress (APC), House of Assembly candidates in the State.
In his judgement, Justice Olabode Adegbehingbe ruled that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had no locus standi to challenge the primary election of the APC in the first place.
Justice Adegbehingbe also declared that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit and its decision which disqualified APC candidates was a nullity.
It would be recalled that Justice Turaki Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt had on 11 November, 2022, nullified the candidacy of 16 APC State Assembly candidates for the 2023 elections in the suit filed by the PDP seeking their disqualification, Punch reports.
The court had based its judgement on the grounds that their primaries were conducted without the supervision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), among others.
Also, Justice Adegbehingbe struck out the suit by the PDP seeking the court to nullify the remaining 16 APC State Assembly candidates whose candidacy were validated by the federalist high court on 11th of November 2022.
One of the counsels for the APC, Achinike William-Wobodo, told journalists that the judgement meant that all State Assembly candidates of the party were free to contest in the 2023 general elections.
“The judgement has just reconfirmed our argument all the way from the lower court where we have argued and maintained that Section 285 (14) sub-C does not grant locus to any political party to challenge the internal affairs of another political party,” William-Wobo added.
Also, one of the counsels for the PDP, Dike Udenna, said the party would study the judgement before deciding on any further action.