A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has rebuffed attempts by Umeh Kalu (SAN), counsel for the All Progressives Congress (APC) and a former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, to stop a motion compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to release the Certified True Copies (CTC) of reports of the party’s primary for Akwa Ibom North-West senatorial district.
The senatorial candidate of the party, Udom Ekpoudom had sued INEC for failing to release the Certified True Copies of reports of the party’s primary despite several letters from his lawyers.
Udom had won the primary for Akwa Ibom North-West which was monitored by officials of the electoral body.
However, Godswill Akpabio was declared the winner of another primary shortly after stepping down for former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu at the APC presidential primary held in Abuja, on June 8.
Mike Igini, resident electoral commissioner (REC) of Akwa Ibom, had said the exercise which produced the former minister as a candidate wasn’t monitored by the commission.
Section 31 of the Electoral Act only allows for substitution when a candidate dies or when he or she withdraws from the race and informs INEC in writing.
Section 29 (4) of the Electoral Act also provides that any person may apply to the Commission for a copy of the nomination form, affidavit, and any other document submitted by a candidate at an election and the Commission shall, upon payment of a prescribed fee, issue such person with a certified copy of the document within 14 days.
Udom had asked the court to compel INEC to avail him of all the documents.
“An order directing the 2nd Defendant to produce certified true copies of the following documents and avail the plaintiff/applicant with the same at or before the hearing of the substantive suit viz
“The official report of the Commission (INEC) of the primary election of the All Progressives Congress for the Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District for the 2023 General Election,” part of the court document had read.
Presiding over the case on Wednesday, Justice Okorowo ordered INEC to produce the Certified True Copies of its official report for the 27th of May APC senatorial primary election.
Reacting to the ruling, a source said, “This order by the Federal High Court and many others to be given by various courts is a further confirmation of SaharaReporters detailed reports of how the heavily compromised and corrupt legal and EPM departments of INEC with the full knowledge of the commission’s leadership are working with corrupt politicians who didn’t emerge from primaries but have their names submitted to INEC.
“As part of the compromise, Mahmoud Yakubu’s leadership not only refused to exercise the power conferred on it to reject such names under section 84(13), it has also used deliberate delays to frustrate those aggrieved from going to court by setting up a committee to review reports of primaries monitored and written at its state offices, a development that its own legal officers say is new and curious because nothing could be added or removed by the headquarters except compromise of the reports and that will be damaging to the image of commission and will undermine public trust.
“Meanwhile, APC through its counsel as a party to the delay strategy only filed and served its processes on the plaintiff in court today in response to Rtd. DIG Udom Ekpoudom’s suit challenging APC’s failure to submit his name to INEC as the party’s candidate for the Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District for the 2023 general elections.”
The matter has been adjourned to July 19, 2022, for a hearing.
