Appeal Court Orders INEC To Conduct Re-run Senatorial Election For Anambra Central Within 90 days

An Appeal Court sitting in Abuja on Monday ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a re-run election for Anambra Central Senatorial District within 90 days.

The three-man panel of the court led by Justice Tinuade Akomolafe Wilson gave the directive while delivering judgment in a suit filed by the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and its candidate, Chief Victor Umeh.

Chief Umeh and his party had filed the appeal to challenge the Febriuary 27 ruling of the court in Abuja which ordered the inclusion of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Senator Uche Ekwunife in the re-run polls.

The seat had remained vacant following the concurrent judgments of the Anambra State Election Tribunal and the Court of Appeal  in Awka which nullified the election that produced Ekwunife as Senator for the district in 2015 on the premise that she was not validly nominated.

Dissatisfied with the verdict, Ekwunife took the case to the Supreme Court for redress but her case was struck out by the five-man panel of the apex court led by Justice Tanko Mohammed on February 10.

Delivering the lead verdict on Monday, Justice Akomolafe Wilson held that: “Where a court nullifies an election and orders a fresh election, a political party which participated in the annulled election at whose instance the election was nullified cannot field a new candidate to contest in the fresh election.

“This is because the fresh election does not entail an entirely new process; rather it takes the place of the annulled election, because the period of nomination of candidates has elapsed.”

The Judge further held that it was rather unfortunate that the trial judge erred by predicating her judgment  on the ground that Ekwunife defected from the PDP.

She thereby set aside the ruling of the Federal High Court delivered on February 29 and ordered the second respondent (INEC) to conduct a fresh election in the senatorial district within 90 days with the participation of the appellants, Chief Victor Umeh and APGA.