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The Supreme Court has affirmed Ifeanyi Odii as the lawful governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for Ebonyi State for the 2023 elections.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that the Supreme Court had earlier stood down the judgment on the dispute over who is the lawful governorship candidate of the PDP in Ebonyi for the 2023 election for 3 pm.
A five-member panel, headed by Justice Amina Augie, delivered the judgement after entertaining final submissions from lawyers to parties in the appeal marked: SC/CV/ 939/2022 filed by Odii. The panel unanimously upheld the appeal filed by Odii as meritorious.
Odii and Sen. Joseph Ogba are engaged in a legal battle over who was validly elected as the party’s candidate for the 2023 poll in the party’s primaries that took place at different occasions in the state.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja had, recently, declared the senator representing Ebonyi Central Zone, Ogba, as the governorship candidate of the party in the state. But Mr Odii, unsatisfied with the court decision, filed an appeal at the apex court.
Justice Lawal Garba, who delivered the lead judgment held that the purported notice of appeal filed by Ogba on June 17, 22, which gave rise to the judgment of the lower court was incompetent in law as it was filed without the leave of court.
The apex court held that as a person having interest in a pre-election matter, but who was not made a party to the proceedings, ought to have obtained leave of the trial court to appeal as an interested party.
Justice Augie who agreed with the lead judgment distinguished her judgment in Ujogbo Vs Abba Umaro decision which the lower court relied upon in its decision.
TNG reports that the Supreme Court also struck out the cross-appeal filed by Ogba.