Appeal Court Strikes Out Andy Uba’s Suit

The Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu south-East Nigeria has struck out the petition filed by Senator Andy Uba seeking to set aside the initial judgement that nullified his election as the senator representing Anambra south senatorial district.

In the ruling, the panel of judges led by Justice Denton West ordered a repeat of the election while vacating the initial order stopping the re-run.

The appeal court further ordered the independent national electoral commission, INEC to conduct the election within ninety days.

The petition which was files last year at the National Assembly Election Tribunal in Awka, Anambra State asked the Tribunal to invalidate the election in the Anambra South Senatorial District and order a re-run as Mr. Uba was not qualified to have run for the Upper House in the first place.

The petition, filed by Mr. Ikechukwu Obiorah, who contested the election on the platform of the Accord Party, further alleges that the election was invalid by reason of corrupt practices and non-compliances with the provisions of the Electoral Act. He asked the court to Disqualify Mr. Uba for giving false information in his election application;set aside his election into the National Assembly for the Anambra South Senatorial District and certificate of return issued to Mr. Uba by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), also rder a fresh election for the Senate seat.

Those who joined in the suit are the PDP, INEC, Prof. Kelechi Greco Okoye (the INEC Returning Officer for the Senatorial District), and Mr. Nicholas Ukachukwu, who, it is alleged, participated in the election as a second candidate of the PDP.