Barring unforeseen circumstances, another matter pertaining to the 2019 governorship election in Imo State, will re echo again at the Supreme Court, Abuja, on January 11, 2021.
The matter is between Governor Hope Uzodimma and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Phillip Umeadi.
Umeadi is praying the nation’s apex court to among other things, interpret and given further legal clarity on the dual candidacy of Uche Nwosu as governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress, APC, and the Action Alliance, AA which was first voided by a Federal High Court, and upheld by the Supreme Court.
Umeadi contends how Senator Hope Uzodimma was governorship candidate of the APC, when Uche Nwosu was disqualified by the apex court for being governorship candidate of the APC and the AA in the 2019 governorship election.
Recall that Nwosu was declared the winner of the APC governorship primary in the state. However, Adam’s Oshiomhole led national leadership of the party opted for Hope Uzodinma as the party’s candidate. This development led Nwosu to defect to AA at the last minute.
In August 2019, Justice Iyang Ekwo of Federal High Court, Abuja ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to omit the name of Uche Nwosu as a governorship candidate in the March 9, 2019 Imo State governorship election.
Nwosu’s candidacy was voided on the grounds of double nomination by two political parties, the All Progressive Congress, APC and the Action Alliance, AA which it stated is in violation of section 37 of the Electoral Act.
The Presiding Judge had upheld the prayer of the plaintiffs, the Action Peoples Party, to the effect that Nwosu’s governorship candidature was null and void on the basis of multiplicity of nominations as governorship candidate of the APC and AA.
Justice Ekwo said Nwosu’s nomination as a governorship candidate of AA “is invalid, null and void, having been made at the pendency of similar nomination of the 2nd defendant (Nwosu) by the All Progressive Congress for the same location.
He similary declared that Nwosu “has not been validly nominated by the 3rd defendant (AA) as it’s governorship candidate for the Imo State Governorship election having been made at the pendency of the Order of Justice Valentine Ashi of the Abuja High Court recognising the 2nd defendant as the candidate of the All Progressive Congress for the Imo State 2019 governorship election.
The Supreme Court in December 2019 upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court.
In a lead judgment read by Justice Amina Augie, the apex court held that Nwosu vied for the governorship election as both candidate of the AA and the APC.
According to the Supreme Court, by virtue of Nwosu’s double candidature and in line with the clear provisions of the Electoral Act, he was bound to be disqualified from the election.
It affirmed the earlier judgments of the High Court and the Court of Appeal on the matter.
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