The Court of Appeal in Abuja has set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja which upheld the Ejike Oguebego-led Executive Committee as the true leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State.

The appellate court also set aside the Federal High Court’s decision which on Thursday voided the Colonel Augustine Akobundo-led caretaker/ad-hoc committee established by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to run the affairs of its Anambra chapter and restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting the list of candidates that emanated from the primaries conducted by the caretaker committee.

The court, in two unanimous judgments, upheld the two appeals filed by the PDP and a chieftain of the party, Chukwudi Okasia, against the December 5, 2014 judgments by Justice Evoh Chukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

By the judgments on Thursday, all the candidates produced in the primaries held by the Oguebego-led Exco of the Anambra PDP would no longer be acceptable to INEC until the Supreme Court decides otherwise.

The Court of Appeal having set aside both judgments by the lower court, struck out the suits on which the judgments were given on the ground that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit which bordered on the party’s internal affairs.

The appellate court, which queried the locus standi of Oguebego and Chucks Okoye, who claimed the Chairman and Secretary of the Anambra chapter of the PDP, held that by virtue of a March 17, 2012 judgment by Justice Kekemeke of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Oguebego and Okoye were not members of the party’s EXCO because the judgment annulled the election from which they purportedly emerged.

The Court of Appeal further held that the suits on which the Justice Chukwu’s judgments were based were not only an abuse of court process, but were wrongly commenced via originating summons.

The court held that it ought to have been commenced with writ of summons as there were needs for parties to call witnesses.

Yesterday’s verdict puts paid to the ambition of Chief Chris Ubah, Chief Annie Okonkwo and Prince John Emeka to represent Anambra South, Anambra Central and Anambra North, respectively, on the PDP ticket.

With the development, the national headquarters of the party will have no option than to present incumbent Senator Andy Ubah, former minister Stella Oduah and House of Representatives member Uche Ekwunife as senatorial candidates for the state since they emerged through the primaries conducted by the Augustine Akunbundo caretaker/ad-hoc committee.

•Pieced together from Channels and Vanguard reports. Photo shows Ekwunife.

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