George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
The Owerri Judicial Division of the Court of Appeal has upturned an earlier judgement of a Federal High Court sitting in Owerri which had faulted the nomination of Sir Okey Ezeh as the Imo State governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the last general elections.
It would be recalled that Dr Casmir Anyanwu, who had earlier emerged as the guberbatorial candidate at the party’s primaries held on the 5th of October, 2018 had dragged both the party and Okey Ezeh who had supplanted him to the Federal High Court sitting in Owerri.
However, the appellate court on Saturday upheld the candidacy of Ezeh after hearing the appeal brought before it by counsels to the gubernatorial candidate.
Delivering judgement, lead Judge Honorable Justice R. C. Agbo affirmed that the lower court never gave fair hearing to Ezeh and the SDP during trial, insisting that the judgement which brought Mr Casmir Anyanwu in as the governorship candidate of the party was null and void.
The court further ordered the Federal High Court to reassign the case to another judge for fresh trial.
Reacting to the judgement, counsel to Ezeh, Austin’s Nwachukwu, hailed the court for standing on the side of justice and fairness. He added that the judgement has reestablished the judiciary in Nigeria as the last hope of the common man.
Meanwhile, the National Working Committee of the SDP has ratified the expulsion of Mr Casmir Anyanwu from the party. In a letter signed by the National Secretary of the party, Alh. Shehu Musa Gabam, and dated March 1, 2019, the party regretted that Anyanwu has continued to engage in further anti-party activities, disloyalty and divisive conduct which have greatly undermined the interest, goodwill and image of the party in Imo State.
“The National Working Committee of the party has seriously considered your conduct and has deemed same as totally unacceptable to the party. In view of this, the National Working Committee has approved your expulsion from the party with effect from March 1, 2019,” the letter reads.