Court Nullifies Uduaghan’s APC Delta South Primary, Orders Fresh One

Barely four days to the presidential and national assembly election, a High Court in Abuja has reportedly nullified the All Progressive Congress, APC Delta South senatorial district primary which produced Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan as winner of the contentious APC ticket in the party’s primary.

BIGPEN ONLINE learnt that the court nullified the primary on Monday following a suit filed by Air Vice Marshal Terry Okorodudu (retd.) who was also an aspirant who was contesting for the APC Delta South ticket.

The retired Air Force boss had approached the court seeking an order to nullify the said primary that produced Uduaghan, saying the purported declaration of former Governor as unopposed candidate to represent the party in 2019 was a ruse.

He had argued that the decision to clear only “Uduaghan for the election making him, (Uduaghan), a sole candidate and leading to an affirmation and not election, was outrightly fraudulent because, according to him, no fair opportunity was given to other aspirants, describing such as a “miscarriage of democratic process”.

Ruling on the suit, the court declares the nomination of Uduaghan a nullity and ordered APC to conduct fresh primaries for Delta South Senatorial District to be monitored by INEC.

Reacting to the judgment, Director General of AVM Terry Omatsola Okorodudu Campaign Organization, Amuche Nzeogwu Elumelu in a statement made available to BIGPEN ONLINE on Tuesday, said that with the judgment, the days politicians hijack the electoral processes without recourse to Nigerians’ sensibilities are over. Nigeria.

The retired Air Vice Marshal said,  “In line with our long held position and strong belief in the truth, equity, justice and the rule of law, we challenged the impudent shenanigan that happened at the APC Delta South Senatorial primaries. As firm believers in due process, we pursued legal options (including trying the Party’s dispute resolution procedures) to address the subterfuge and morally reprehensible conducts that marred the primaries.

Continuing, he said, “For avoidance of doubt, we fought this matter in court not for personal aggrandisement, but rather to restore hope to the people of Delta South, who have for too long been subjected to the throes of bad governance. We went into the legal battle to checkmate brazen impunity.

“With today’s judgement, the message is loud. It is clear. The days politicians hijack the electoral processes without recourse to Nigerians’ sensibilities are over. Nigeria is a country, where the rule law should reign supreme. The creation of the Nigerian State itself was an act of law, not of nature.  We hope that one major take home here, is that going forward, all must at all times ensure strict adherence to due process.

“In closing, we thank our supporters, Delta South indigenes and all Nigerians for being steadfast in their support of our course. We implore you to continue to support us as we go into fresh primaries and by the special grace of God, the election”, the statement added.

BIGPEN ONLINE reports that Uduaghan has the option of filling for a stay of execution and at same time appealing the judgment.

The former governor alluded to this same day the judgment came when he, on his facebook page exerted himself as remaining the APC candidate for Delta South senatorial district in the Saturday election.

“It is four days till we are declared winner of the 2019 Senatorial election in Delta South, he wrote.

“I specially appreciate everyone for your labour of love towards this project, especially from those unexpected believers in the EEU4Senate project.

“Your demonstration has shown that this project is own by the good people of Delta South who yearn for qualitative representation.

“Let us maintain our focus because victory is only hours away. God bless us all as we press to the finish line together!

He concluded with, “It is #EEU4Senate and #APCTakeOverDelta” hagtag.