Valentine Ozigbo Campaign Organisation has discredited fake news circulated across social media platforms on Monday, July 5, 2021 claiming that a Court of Appeal had nullified Valentine Ozigbo’s victory at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial party primary.
According to the misleading report, a Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Monday ruled that the June 26 guber primary election held at the Prof Dora Akunyili Women Development Center overseen by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP was null and void.
In a swift reaction, Val Ayika, the Director of Strategy and Media of the Valentine Ozigbo Campaign Organisation, labelled the unsigned report as fake, malicious, and a gross misrepresentation of what transpired in court.
According to Mr Ayika, a trained lawyer, “it is not within the purview of the Court of Appeal to issue such a statement”. He further stated that Ozigbo won the party’s primary, which was adjudged to be the most transparent, free, and fair primary election ever conducted in the history of the PDP.
“The primary election was carried out in compliance with all relevant enabling laws and was organised by the party’s National Working Committee and monitored by INEC officials and security agencies,” the statement read.
After winning the primary election, Mr Ozigbo was on Wednesday, June 30, 2021, issued his certificate of return by the National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus, at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
Ayika, a two-time federal lawmaker, explained that the PDP had earlier filed a notice of appeal with two applications at the Court of Appeal.
“The party had accompanied its notice of appeal with two applications at the Court of Appeal seeking ‘a motion of abridgement of time’ and ‘a motion for stay of execution’,” Ayika revealed.
“Following the withdrawal of the said motions by the party, the appellate court struck them as is usually the practice in our jurisprudence. The Court of Appeal then directed the parties to file their respective briefs of argument for the matter to be heard and determined,” the statement added.
The VCO Campaign Organisation advised all well-meaning members of the party, the good people of Anambra State, and teeming supporters of Mr Ozigbo to disregard the fake news in its entirety.
