Again, Supreme Court has postponed hearing of two applications by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Action People’s Party (APP) seeking to nullify the eligibility of All Progressives Congress (APC) Hope Uzodimma, in the 2019 Imo State governorship election, till December 5, 2023.
The PDP and APP are asking the Supreme Court to give effect to its judgment delivered in 2019, disqualifying Uche Nwosu of Action Alliance (AA) from the election on grounds of double nomination.
They argued that APC, which was held by the Supreme Court to have also nominated Nwosu, could not have also nominated Uzodimma.
PDP is asking the apex court to return its candidate, Emeka Ihedioha, as winner of the election, since APC was precluded from sponsoring two candidates in the election.
Politics Nigeria recalls the Supreme Court judgment on Imo 2019 governorship election is one of the cases mentioned by retired Justice Musa Dattijo Muhammad as of public concern.
PDP filed its application on July 9, 2020, but the Supreme Court did not give it a hearing date, until this week, over three years after.
Although the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Ihedioha winner of the election, the apex court, in 2020, sacked Ihedioha and declared Uzodimma as winner of the poll.
In the run up to the 2019 Imo governorship election, the APP and its candidate, Mr. Uche Nnadi, along with the PDP, approached the Federal High Court, Abuja, seeking, among other reliefs, the disqualification of Nwosu from contesting the election on the ground that he was nominated by two political parties –AA and APC – contrary to Section 37 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) which forbids double-nomination.
PDP and APP won at the High Court and Court of Appeal levels. But the apex court concurred in a December 2019 judgment that Nwosu is guilty of double nomination under two political parties – the APC and AA, a decision which led to the instant appeals.
Specifically, the PDP and APP, in the fresh appeals, are asking the Supreme Court to give effect to its judgment delivered in 2019 disqualifying Nwosu from the election on the grounds of double nomination.
