The confusion, triggered by Dr Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah, who obtained a court order which sacked Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and affirmed him as governor-elect, expanded, at the weekend, as the third contender to the Abia governorship emerged.

A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in the state, Friday Nwosu, filed a suit against the judgment of the Federal High Court which declared Ogah as governor-elect. Nwosu averred that the court, having disqualified Ikpeazu as the governorship candidate of the PDP in Abia in the 2015 polls, should have declared him as governor-elect and not Ogah. The PDP governorship aspirant argued that the court ought not to have allowed Ogah to benefit from the primary election he condemned by refusing to sign the result while also petitioning the leadership of the party and asking it to conduct another primary election.

Justice A.I. Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Owerri, has fixed tomorrow and Tuesday to hear Nwosu’s suit against Ikpeazu and Ogah.

Nwosu was the first aspirant to file a tax forgery suit against Ikpeazu and joined Ogah as one of the respondents in Suit FHC/ABJ/CS/184/2015, FHC/UM/CS/64/2015 and FHC/CS/OW/191/2015. The suit, filed at the Federal High Court 7, Abuja, and presided over by Justice Adeniyi Ademola, had suffered several delays before it was transferred to Umuahia after which Nwosu petitioned the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, accusing Justice F.A. Olubanjo of bias.

As a result of the petition, Auta transferred the matter to the Federal High Court, Owerri, then presided over by Justice S.M.Shuaibu. Shuaibu was soon transferred to Kaduna Division, but was granted an assignment order to hear and conclude the matter. The assignment order was later revoked by Auta when Ikpeazu’s counsel, C.C. Elele, protested and accused Shuaibu of bias. (Vanguard)

•Adapted from a Sunday Vanguard report.

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