In Zamfara, the atmosphere in the state chapter of the APC was mired in confusion and uncertainty about the valid governorship candidate of the party

Mohammed Munirat Nasir, Laide Raheem Stanley Uzoaru

A Federal High Court sitting in Owerri presided over by Justice M.T. Salihu, yesterday granted an order of interim injunction restraining the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its National Organising Secretary, Emma Ibediro, from submitting any other name other than that of Uche Nwosu.

READ ALSO: Imo APC primary: My name hasn’t been dropped – Uche Nwosu

In a suit filed by Nwosu against APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, Deputy National Chairman, South West, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, the National Secretary, Mallam Mala Buni, National Organising Secretary, National Publicity, Imo State APC Chairman, Daniel Nwafor and the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the defendants were restrained from substituting the claimant’s (Nwosu) name with any other name or removing or changing his name as the winner of the first defendant’s primary election for the 2019 gubernatorial election for Imo state held on October 6, 2018 where the plaintiff emerged winner pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

Similarly, an Abuja High Court yesterday also ordered the APC to show cause why it should not be committed to contempt for violating its earlier ruling not to submit any other name other than that of Uche Nwosu as the governorship candidate of the party for the 2019 election in Imo state.

In the suit with reference No. FCT/HC/ CV/2946/2018, the court, presided over by Justice Valentine Ashi, also restrained the second defendants (INEC) from accepting any name other than the claimant’s name as the candidate of APC for the gubernatorial election in Imo State, pending the determination of the motion on notice.

Meanwhile, speaking on the valid APC governorship candidate for Imo, Governor Rochas Okorocha’s Chief Press Secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo assured that INEC and the APC would send the name of Nwosu as the authentic candidate of the party for next year’s general elections.

He said: “What we know is that they will send the name of Uche Nwosu. We believe the party would do the right thing. They would send the name of the person who won the primaries and not a person who did not win the primaries.

“They disbanded the first committee and a committee came here and conducted primaries and Uche Nwosu won. We have a police and INEC report confirming Uche Nwosu as the person who won the primaries. There is also a subsisting court order in favour of Uche Nwosu. Left or right, Uche Nwosu is the candidate of the party.

“We are not asking for any favour; we are asking the party to do the right thing and the right thing is for the name of the man who won the primaries to be sent to INEC and we believe the party would do the right thing. We are very optimistic about that and we know that Hope Uzodinma did not win any primaries.”

In Zamfara, the atmosphere in the state chapter of the APC was mired in confusion and uncertainty about the valid governorship candidate of the party in the state.

Supporters of the party including those in the governor’s camp and the aggrieved aspirants known as the G8 camp were not sure of what was happening regarding who the governorship candidate in 2019 will be.

Though there were speculations that the APC National Working Committee (NWC) had submitted the name of one of the aspirants as the consensus candidate of the party to INEC to beat the November 2 deadline, the situation on ground though not officially confirmed, showed otherwise. Efforts to speak to the governor’s Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Alhaji Ibrahim Dosara to get the reaction of Governor Yari on the development proved abortive as his phone was switched off. Also, the APC State Chairman, Alhaji Lawal Muhammad Liman and State Publicity Secretary, Aliyu Isa refused to pick their calls.

Governor Abdul’Aziz Yari Abubakar is currently at loggerheads with NWC for rejecting the results of the primaries which produced his anointed candidate, Mukthar Shehu Idris due to the NWC’s insistence that no primaries was conducted in Zamfara State by the APC.

READ ALSO: http://sunnewsonline.com/guber-ticket-okorocha-amosun-yari-lose-out/

The Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, could not be reached on phone yesterday for his comments on the deadline on the publishing of names of governorship candidates by INEC. But when contacted on the chances of the governor’s anointed candidate, Abdul Adekunle Akinlade, Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Dayo Adeleye, said the the governor had traveled to Abuja.

Asked by our correspondent on his own view on the issue, Adeleye simply said “there is no comment”.