The gubernatorial aspirations of Chief Willie Obiano, the APGA candidate for the November 16 Anambra governorship election, received a boost today when the High Court of Anambra State sitting in Otuocha Division dismissed a petition brought before Hon. Justice D. O. C. Amaechina pleading the court to disqualify the gubernatorial hopeful for allegedly possessing double voter’s cards.

There had been speculations that the defendant, who hails from Aguleri in Anambra North Senatorial District, might have registered twice in readiness for the elections, making Mr. Chuma Tony Oli to drag him and APGA to court, pleading for his disqualification from the race.

However, after studying the plaintiff’s claim as submitted by his counsel, Emeka Ugezu, and the defendant’s counter claim submitted by Sylvester Odili, Justice Amaechina threw out the case for lack of merit and awarded a cost of N50,000 against the plaintiff.

Hon. Justice Amaechina further upheld that Chief Obiano, the first defendant, had “fulfilled the conditions set out for qualification to the office of the Governor of a state as provided by section 117 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 199 as amended.” He emphasised that the APGA candidate does not come within the ambit of any of the disqualifying conditions set out in section 182 of the 199 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

According to him, Chief Obiano “did not include his name in the register of voters for a constituency in which he is not entitled to be registered and did not cause himself to be registered in more than one registration centre and as such did not contravene any of the provisions of Section 117 of the 2010 Electoral Act.”

Hon. Justice Amaechina also held that the second defendant, APGA, rightly elected and presented Obiano as its gubernatorial candidate for the coming elections and subsequently awarded the sum of N50,000 against the plaintiff in favour of the defendants.

The judgement lays to rest all speculations and false accusations that have trailed Chief Obiano’s candidature in the coming elections.

•Photo shows APGA governorship candidate Obiano.

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