A Federal High Court, Uyo, has nullified the election of Akanimo Udofia as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom State.
The judge, Agatha Okeke, ordered the APC to conduct a fresh governorship primary within 14 days.
The case was instituted by a former senator, Ita Enang, who claimed that he was the validly elected candidate of the APC in Akwa Ibom.
In a judgment delivered on Monday, Justice Okeke agreed with Mr Enang’s argument, and ruled that Mr Udofia was not a member of the APC having not participated in all the stages of the process of electing a governorship candidate of the party.
Mr Udofia, a successful entrepreneur, was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and had bought the PDP nomination forms to contest the party governorship primary in Akwa Ibom before he defected to the APC.
He got the APC governorship ticket in the state with the influence of the former minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, to the consternation of many of the party members and supporters.
Justice Okeke ruled that Mr Udofia did not satisfy the provision of the electoral laws which stipulates that he ought to have been a member of the APC for at least 30 days to the nomination, and that moreover the waiver Mr Udofia allegedly got from the APC was not signed by “any known persons”.
The court ordered that Mr Udofia be excluded from a fresh governorship primary of the APC in Akwa Ibom.
“I really thank God about this judgment,” Mr Enang, former special adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Niger Delta Affairs, told PREMIUM TIMES, Monday afternoon.
“I thank the judiciary, I thank the Electoral Act, I thank Akwa Ibom people. And I also thank my brother, Akan Udofia. And of course, APC is very active in this state, and we will win the election,” he said.
PREMIUM TIMES could not immediately reach Mr Udofia for his comment on the judgment, as he did not respond to calls and a text message to his phone line.
‘Akpabio supporting YPP candidate for governorship’
Meanwhile, three sources within the APC have told PREMIUM TIMES that the former minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr Akpabio, is supporting the candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Bassey Albert, for the 2023 Akwa Ibom governorship election.
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The sources said Mr Akpabio has an understanding with Mr Albert that the APC supporters in Akwa Ibom North West District, where the former minister is contesting for Senate, would vote for the YPP in the governorship election, while Mr Albert would rally the YPP supporters in the district to vote for the APC in the senatorial election, so that Mr Akpabio could defeat the PDP candidate, Emmanuel Enoidem, who is his major rival.
Two sources close to Mr Albert have confirmed the existence of such understanding between Messrs Akpabio and Albert.
The YPP senatorial candidate in Akwa Ibom North West District, Emmanuel Ekon, has been pressured by both Akpabio and Albert not to launch any campaign in order not to confuse or distract the voters in the district, the two sources said.
The spokesperson to Mr Akpabio, Jackson Udom, however, dismissed the issue as a beer parlour gossip.
“I am not aware of that. That’s what is called beer parlour-gossip,” he said on Friday when a PREMIUM TIMES reporter contacted him.
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