Appeal Court hears suit against INEC over Anambra guber polls

THE Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu would today consider a motion for interlocutory injunction against the release of guidelines for the November 16, 2013, governorship election in Anambra State by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
  Meanwhile, reconciliation may have finally come the way of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh and his predecessor and now the National Chairman of the United Progressives Party (UPP) Chief Chekwas Okorie, as both men at the weekend in Nkpor, Anambra State, embraced each other.
  In the Appeal, Mr. Ifeanyichukwu Okonkwo had sued (INEC), the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Anambra State and others, complaining that he was wrongfully and illegally excluded from the governorship election despite his pending matter in court over the delisting of his party by INEC.
  The plaintiff, suing for himself and on behalf of the Nigeria Advance Party (NAP) against the three respondents namely: INEC, the Anambra REC, Prof. Chukwuemeka Onukaogu and others; is seeking an order of injunction restraining the 1st and 2nd respondents from releasing the guidelines for the governorship election pending the determination of his suit challenging the delisting of NAP from the list of registered parties in Nigeria.
  The plaintiff, in his motion on notice, argues that while the motion dated and filed on April 29, 2013, was fixed for hearing on September 23, 2013, the 1st and 2nd respondents went ahead to release the guidelines despite the fact that they were parties to the suit and consented to the adjourned date.
  When the matter came up for hearing on October 23, 2013, Justice Azira G. Mshelia, leading two others, Justices E. Agim and I.I. Agube, had after listening to the arguments of the parties, adjourned the matter to Monday, October 28, 2013, to consider the motion for interlocutory injunction and the main appeal.
  On Wednesday, October 23, 2013, when the case was called, the plaintiff/applicant told the court that he has a pending motion dated and filed on April 29, 2013, praying the court for an order of injunction against the 1st and 2nd respondents.
  “I deposed to 12 paragraphs affidavit in support of the said motion on notice, for an order of injunction, for myself and on behalf on my political party, the NAP”, he averred, adding that notwithstanding the pending motion for injunction, the 1st and 2nd respondents, announced the date for the election and released the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2013 election in Anambra State in a way to oust the jurisdiction of the court.
  At the 2013 Idemili Day celebration held on the playground of St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Nkpor, the embrace by Umeh and Okorie roused murmurs of “reconciliation at last” from some section of the crowd. Many believe that the “reconciliation” has marked the end of the pains in the nearly 10 years internecine legal suit over the leadership of APGA.
  The cultural event, organised by Nzuko Imeobi, a socio-cultural organisation of Idemili North and South, however, turned into a mini-political rally, as the governorship candidate of APGA, Willy Obiano and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Ifeanyi Ubah, the only two candidates at the event, stormed the event with their supporters.

- The Guardian

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