Appeal court bars INEC from conducting Imo PDP rerun election
An Appeal Court sitting in Owerri has prohibited the Independent National Electoral commission and the Peoples Democratic Party from conducting the rerun primary election of the PDP for Aboh Mbaise/ Ngor Okpala federal constituency of the state, slated for today, February 2.
It would be recalled that an Abuja federal high court had last week cancelled the PDP primary election for the said which had reportedly produced Albert Agulanna as the winner and ordered a rerun primary election in the federal constituency with 14 days.
However, Justice Rita Pemu who heard an appeal filled by Uzoma Ugochukwu against PDP, INEC, Bede Eke and Albert Agulanna, ordered that the proposed rerun primary election be halted pending the hearing and the determination of the applicants appeal before the supreme court.
In giving orders, the justice said ” accordingly, it is hereby ordered as follows, that the order of this honourable court made on the 20th of January, 2023, ordering a fresh primary election for Aboh Mbaise/ Ngor Okpala federal constituency of Imo State pending the hearing and final determination of the applicants appeal before the supreme court on the propriety of the said order of fresh primary be and is hereby stayed.
” Consequently, by this order, the first and second respondents are hereby restrained from enforcing in anyway whatever the judgement of this court delivered on 20th of January, 2023, by way of conducting a fresh primary election for Aboh Mbaise/ Ngor Okpala federal constituency.”
Aboh Mbaise/ Ngor Okpala federal constituency is the Constituency of the immediate past governor of the state, Emeka Ihedioha, who is said to be eyeing a comeback as the governor of the state.
