APC candidates, others step down for PDP | Nairalaw

Governor David Umahi’s re-election bid received a boost on
Tuesday when 26 opposition candidates stepped down for him.

Mr Umahi is seeking re-election on the platform of his party,
PDP.

Also, two All Progressives Congress (APC) State House of
Assembly candidates at the event also announced that they were
stepping down for opposition PDP candidates.

They announced this at the State Executive Council Chambers of
Government House, Abakaliki, the state capital.

Okorie Ogbonnaya of the Advanced Allied Party (AAP), who spoke
on behalf of the governorship candidates, said their decision was
to allow for continuity.

“After critically appraising the developmental stride of
Governor Umahi and in perfect agreement that he has done well in
his first term and will do more in the second term, we the
underlisted political parties hereby resolve without any form of
force to step down for Governor David Umahi and adopt him as our
sole candidate for the governorship election,” he said.

They said their decision would enable the governor to complete
his eight years term as enshrined in the Ebonyi ‘charter of equity’
”which stipulated that each senatorial zone should have two
uninterrupted terms in office.”

The candidates also resolved that they will not go to court in
the event that Mr Umahi is re-elected in Saturday’s governorship
election.

“But we shall fight for justice and stand by the people of the
state in the case of obvious alleged planned manipulation of the
election by the APC,” they said.

Also speaking, the APC House of Assembly candidate for Ezza
South Constituency, Amechi Nweke, said he was stepping down ”in
support of the developmental strides of the governor”.

He claimed that ten other APC State House of Assembly members
have also stepped down in addition to himself and Amechi Odah, the
APC candidate for Ishielu.

A former member of the APC and Ebonyi North Senatorial candidate
of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Anselem Enigwe, also announced
that he was decamping to the PDP.

Responding, Mr Umahi urged the remaining 12 candidates of the
APC ”to join the PDP to move the state forward”.

He promised to accommodate all the ex-candidates.

The South East Vice Chairman of the PDP, Austin Umahi; State
Deputy Governor, Kelechi Igwe; State PDP Chairman, Onyekachi
Nwebonyi and other leaders of the party were on hand to welcome the
politicians to the party.

Court to Hear Suit Seeking Buhari, Atiku’s
Disqualification

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered service of court
process on President Muhammadu Buhari and the Presidential
Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar
through substituted means in suit seeking to disqualify their
participation in the last presidential election.

The two Presidential Candidates are to be served through the
legal departments of the All Progressive Congress (APC) for Buhari
and the legal department of the PDP for Atiku.

In the suit seeking the cancellation of their participation in
the February 23, 2019 Presidential election, the plaintiff, Usman
Ibrahim Alhaji who contested the Presidential election along with
Buhari and Atiku on the platform of his party, National Rescue
Movement is praying the Federal High Court to invoke Section 91(2)
of the Electoral Act, 2010 to nullify the participation of Buhari
and Atiku in the poll for allegedly violating the electoral
laws.

Specifically, the plaintiff, through his counsel, Ezekiel Vem
Ofou is praying the court to set aside the participation of Buhari
and Atiku on the ground that they spent more than one billion naira
each as campaign expenses.

Plaintiff claimed that by spending more than one billion naira
each, Buhari and Atiku have violated the electoral law and are
liable to be removed as contestants in the election.

When the matter came up yesterday, counsel to the plaintiff,
Ofou told the trial judge, Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed that he has
found it extremely difficult to serve the court papers on Buhari
and Atiku, who are the major defendants in the suit because of the
retinue of security around them.

The counsel then moved an ex-parte motion in which he prayed
Justice Mohammed for an order of substituted service on the two
major defendants

He predicated the ex-parte motion on Order 6 Rule 5 of the
Federal High Court practice direction for permission to allow him
serve Buhari and Atiku through the legal departments of their
respective parties.

In a short ruling, Justice Mohammed granted the ex-parte motion
and ordered that Buhari and Atiku be served with court processes
through their respective political parties and adjourned the matter
to March 26, 2019 for mention.

By PRNigeria