JUSTICE F. O. G. Ogunbanjo of the Federal High Court Enugu has fixed October 7, 2022 for hearing in the pre-election matter to determine who is the authentic PDP candidate for Awgu/Aninri/Oji River Federal Constituency of Enugu State for the 2023 elections.
PDP conducted a primary election for the constituency on May 22, 2022, and declared one of the candidates, Chief Beeford Anayo Onwuegbu the winner. His name was subsequently submitted to the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC who has also published his name as the recognized candidate.
However, Mr. Okechukwu Marcelinus Nnaedozie filed a suit at the Federal Court, Enugu challenging the party’s submission of Onwuegbu’s name to INEC and his recognition by the commission, claiming that he was unlawfully excluded from participating in the primary election.
He joined Onwuegbu, PDP and INEC as the 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants, respectively.
He is asking the court to declare the primary election for Awgu/Aninri/Oji River Federal Constituency held on May 22, 2022 as null, void and in gross violation of the Electoral Act 2022 and the relevant sections of PDP’s electoral guidelines for conduct of primary elections.
But PDP disagreed and is challenging the suit. In a preliminary objection filed by their lawyer, Maxwell Orah, the party is urging the court to dismiss the suit, saying that it was filed out of time.
The party further argued that the processes are dead on arrival as the law is clear that any pre-election matter must be filed 14 days from the date of the declaration of the primary result, saying that Nnaedozie filed his application 16 days out of time and described the application as “frivolous”.
The party therefore urged the court to dismiss the suit “as same has become statute barred, hence the court can no longer entertain same”.
They also prayed the court to dismiss the suit on the grounds that it has no jurisdiction on the matter because the Plaintiff has no locus standi to institute the action because he did not participate in the primary election.
When the matter came up Friday, after listening to the various applications filed by the parties, Justice Ogunbanjo adjourned it to Friday, October 7, 2022, for hearing.
