From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
A Federal High Court in Abuja has been asked to nullify the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election that produced Senator Emmanuel Andy Uba as the party’s governorship candidate.
A governorship aspirant of the APC in Anambra, Chief George Moghalu, alleged in a suit on Monday that the Electoral Act and APC guidelines were brazenly flouted in a primary claimed to have been conducted in June.
In the suit instituted on his behalf by Chief Chris Uche, SAN, Moghalu, who claimed to have bought a nomination form for a whopping N23 million, asserted that no primary election known to law was conducted by the party.
The governorship aspirant tendered the report of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which confirmed that no primary election was conducted within time stipulated by law.
The APC leader cited section 87 of the Electoral Act and guidelines of the party which stipulated that primary election must be conducted between 8am and 4pm.
The plaintiff maintained that he and delegates as well as INEC officials waited until 7pm on the primary election day without seen party officials billed to conduct the election.
The APC leader further stated that the INEC officials, delegates and himself left the venue when the reality dawned on them that no election would be conducted afterall.
He said that he was shocked the following day when the party announced that it had conducted a purported primary election and that one Emmanuel Andy Uba had won.
The plaintiff asked Justice Inyang Eden Ekwo to nullify the purported primary election and order a fresh one.
In the alternative, Moghalu prayed for an order of the court compelling the party to refund the N23 million paid for nomination and expression of interest forms.