The Supreme Court has affirmed the candidacy of Mister Tony Nwoye as the validly nominated candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in the November 16 Anambra Governorship Election.
Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, who delivered the lead judgment, said the appeal filed by Mister Nicolas Ukachukwu asking the court to discontinue the judgment of the appellate court which ruled that the trial court did not have jurisdiction to hear his case succeeds in part in that section 87; sub-section 9 gives the trial court jurisdiction.
She, however, added that Mister Ukachukwu did not question the candidacy of Mister Tony Nwoye, which was upheld by the appellate court and, therefore, the apex court agrees that Mister Nwoye is the validly elected candidate of the PDP.
Her ruling was unanimously supported by the other 5 judges on the panel, which fixed January 31, 2014 to give reason for its position.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt the Rivers State capital had set aside the Federal High Court’s ruling, affirming Nicholas Ukachukwu as the Anambra State PDP candidate. The court in its October 23 ruling ordered INEC to recognise Tony Nwoye as the duly elected candidate of the PDP in the November 16 governorship election.
It will be recalled that the Supreme Court, prior to this ruling had on November 1 stopped the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from going ahead with its planned flag-off campaign for the November 16 governorship election in Anambra State, pending when the court would hear the appeal filed by Nicolas Ukachukwu.
