AA rejects Court judgement on Nwosu

The Action Alliance (AA) said on Friday that it was rejecting the recent judgement of the Federal High Court in Abuja, nullifying the candidature of its governorship candidate in the last election in Imo State, Chief Uche Nwosu, saying the judgement was a bundle of contradiction.

In a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja, the party said the judgement was given in error as Uche Nwosu was never enlisted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

National Publicity Secretary of the party, Prince Charles Chukwuemeka said the federal high court ruling contradicts the earlier Supreme Court ruling that had confirmed Uche Nwosu as the governorship candidate of the party (AA) in Imo State.

While asking members of the party in Imo State to disregard the ruling, he said, “Action Alliance rejects that court ruling wherein it said that Uche Nwosu is no longer the candidate of AA because of double nomination.

“You should know that there is a Supreme Court ruling that affirms Uche Nwosu as the governorship candidate of AA in Imo State. It is also important to state that Uche Nwosu never associated with APP and even the APC after the party recognised Senator Hope Uzodinma as its candidate. Nwosu was never listed as APC candidate or any other party except AA by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“We are against that ruling, it does not reflect our political interest as l emphasize that there was never a time Uche Nwosu was listed as a candidate of any other party.”

A Federal High Court had last week ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to remove the name of Uche Nwosu as a governorship candidate in the last election held in Imo State.

The presiding Judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo had voided Nwosu’s candidacy on the grounds of double nomination by two political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Action Alliance (AA), in violation of Section 37 of the Electoral Act.

The case was instituted against the AA governorship candidate in Imo State by the Action Peoples Party (APP) and its Deputy National Chairman, Uche Nnadi.

In his ruling, Justice Ekwo declared the nomination of Nwosu by AA as a governorship candidate “invalid, null and void, having been made at the pendency of similar nomination of the second defendant (Nwosu) by the All Progressives Congress for the same position.”

Justice Ekwo said, “There is no controversy that, on October 6, 2018, the second defendant (Nwosu) had himself nominated as the governorship candidate of the APC.

“Furthermore, there is no controversy that, to secure his nomination by the APC, the second defendant on October 9, 2019, obtained an order of the High Court of the Federal High Court, which subsists having not been set aside.”

The judge ruled, “It is illegal in the eyes of the law. No one is allowed to benefit from an illegal act. The second defendant allowed himself to be nominated by the APC and the third defendant (AA).”