An Abuja division of the Federal High Court has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to accept and publish the name of Godswill Akpabio, as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District.
Justice Emeka Nwite gave the order on Thursday while delivering judgement on the matter.
He held that INEC acted illegally by not accepting and publishing Mr Akpabio’s name after it was sent to them by APC.
Backstory
- Mr Akpabio had contested in the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primaries of which he lost to Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
- After losing out. He resorted to picking the senatorial tickets of the party for the Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial Districts. However, Udom Ekpoudom had already emerged as candidate after participating in the primaries which were supervised by INEC officials.
- Fortunately for Akpabio, the first primary conducted in the zone on May 28, 2022, was cancelled following security infractions during the primary election.
- A rerun of the primary election was conducted and Mr Akpabio won the rerun poll having polled 478 votes.
Subsequently, his name was forwarded to INEC as the candidate.
What happened in court
Mr Akpabio and APC had dragged INEC to court over its failure to recognise Akpabio as the senatorial candidate for 2023.
INEC had submitted that it did not recognise Akpabio because it only supervised and monitored the May 27 primary election that was cancelled and it did not monitor the one conducted by APC’s National Working Committee on June 9 that produced Akpabio as the party’s candidate.
However, the judge rejected INEC’s submission, he said it is only the NWC of a political party that can conduct valid primaries as it is authorised by law to conduct such primaries.
Justice Nwite said the consequences of INEC’s failure to monitor the legal primary conducted on June 9 by APC cannot be visited on Akpabio.
He said there is no law that empowers INEC to refuse to accept and publish the name of a candidate sent to it by a political party without an order of a court.
Consequently, he held that INEC cannot choose and impose a candidate on a political party.
He held that INEC’s refusal to accept and publish Akpabio’s name was in contradiction with the law, having received the name from the APC as its valid candidate.
He declared that “INEC is bound by the provisions of Section 29 (3) of the Electoral Act to publish only the personal particulars of the candidate of the first plaintiff for the Akwa-Iborn North/West Senatorial District elections in the person of the second plaintiff (Akpabio) as received from the first plaintiff.
“INEC cannot publish any other name or particulars of any other candidate as candidate of the APC for the Akwa – lbom North/West Senatorial District elections, “except as nominated, submitted and received from the first plaintiff (APC).”
The judge said “I am of the view that the defendant (INEC) cannot choose and impose a candidate on a political party. The fact that INEC chose to monitor an illegal primary and produce a report, cannot give it legitimacy.
“INEC cannot unilaterally pronounce a primary conducted by a political party or a candidate submitted to it as invalid, without a valid court order.
“The consequences of the defendant’s (INEC’s) failure to monitor the legal primary conducted on June 9 by the first plaintiff, cannot be visited on the plaintiffs.
“The defendant lacks the vires to usurp or assume the power of the court to disqualify a candidate.”
Consequently, Justice Nwite ordered INEC to publish the name of Akpabio as the candidate of the APC for the Akwa-Iborn North/West Senatorial District in the 2023 general elections as nominated and submitted to it by APC.
