INEC To Comply With Court Ruling On Anambra PDP Executives

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*Nwoye, Etiaba withdraw from race

A new twist has been added to the ongoing congress of the
Peoples Democratic Party to choose its candidate for the November 6
Anambra governorship election as the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) has said it will comply with a High Court of
Abuja judgement dismissing the sacking of the Anambra State Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP’s) executives.

Also, two aspirants, Dr. Tony Nwoye and Emeka Atiaba (SAN), have
announced the withdrawal of their participation from the
governorship election currently going on in Awka, Anambra
state.

PDP has said that it will use the three-man ad-hoc election
result and directed the use of the automatic delegates system for
the election of the governorship candidate.

The court on June 9, 2021 dismissed the applications filed by
the national office of the PDP and two others.

But INEC, in a letter addressed to national chairman of the PDP
dated Friday, June 25 said it had received the High Court judgement
dismissing the sacking of the Anambra PDP executives.

The electoral commission in the letter signed by the Secretary
to the Commission Rose Oriaran-Anthony told the PDP national
chairman that it would comply with June 9 judgement.

INEC said: “The Commission has been served with the judgement of
the High Court of the FCT delivered on 9th June, 2021 in suit No.
FCT/HC/774/2012- Between Samuel Anyakorah vs PDP & ors regarding
the Anambra State PDP executives.

” Consequent upon the above, the Commission wishes to intimate
you on the need to comply with same.

“Accept the assurance of the Commission’s high regards,
please.”

Justice Olukayode Adeniyi of the High Court sitting in Maitama
Abuja, in a ruling held that the three applicants – the PDP, Chief
Ndubisi Nwobu and Barr. Uchenna Obiora – failed to make out a case
to warrant the grant of their application that sought to stay the
judgment pending the determination of the appeal.

Justice Adeniyi, who came down hard on the applicants for
earlier denigrating the court in their reaction to the judgment,
held that they did not show that the non-staying of the judgment
would either render their appeals nugatory or make it impossible
for the party to conduct its primary for the forthcoming
governorship election.

The judge voided all the activities engaged in by the party
since June 9 when the judgment was delivered, including the
elections it conducted on June 10 and 11 to elect a three-man
ad-hoc ward delegate that would participate in the voting at the
primary of the PDP scheduled for June 26, 2021.

Justice Adeniyi said the statement made on June 9, by the State
Publicity Secretary of the PDP Anambra in which he disparaged the
court and its judgment was an affront to the court, adding that
they do not expect a court they have insulted to grant them an
indulgence.

He said: “The first applicant (the PDP), which is the principal
party has maintained in the face of this court that its judgment is
null and void for want of jurisdiction. The same party cannot at
the same time seek equitable reliefs from the same court.

“A party that has no regard for the judgment of a court and
described it in derogatory terms to the whole world, as shown in
Exhibit C, cannot quietly return to the same court to seek
equitable relief to stay the same judgment that it defied and
defiled.

“An assessment of the totality of the circumstances that have
been presented before me by the instant applications leads to only
one conclusion, which is that the applicants do not have an iota of
respect for the authority of this court, they issued a release to
embolden their members not to reckon with the judgment of the court
and followed it up by taking of definite contemptuous steps in
disregard of the court’s judgment.

“For them to come back with a motion for stay of execution and
injunction pending the determination of their appeal, in my view,
is a clear afterthought. I there say that no court worth its
authority will grant any such application, no matter how well
presented and argued,” Justice Adeniyi said.

The June 9 judgment, which they sought to stay was on a suit
marked: HC/CV/774/2021 filed by Samuel Anyakolah (for himself and
all local government chairmen and ward executives that emerged from
the Anambra PDP congress conducted on November 28 and December 1,
2017 under the supervision of Sir Chukwudi Umeaba, as Acting
Chairman State Caretaker Committee).

The judge agreed with the plaintiff/claimant that the PDP
violated its constitution in the conduct of the Southeast zonal
congress of March March 6, 2021 and the appointments made
therein.

He declared among others, that “all congresses, designations or
appointments made by the first defendant (the PDP), with respect to
the positions of the state chairman, EXCO members and local
government chairmen, as contained in pages 14,15 and 16 of the
Southeast zonal congress brochure of 6th March 2021 are hereby
nullified and set aside.”

The judge ordered the PDP to henceforth, recognise and adopt
only the list of the already inaugurated party officers and
delegates that emerged from the Anambra PDP congresses conducted on
November 28, 2017 and December 1, 2017 validated by Senator Grace
Bent Ward Congress Appeal Panel report and Barrister Ukpai Ukairo
Local Government Appeal Panel report, under the supervision of Sir
Chukwudi Umeaba, who shall continue to act in the capacities for
which they were duly elected.