2023: APC Governorship Candidate Floors PDP At Calabar Appeal Court

The Court of Appeal sitting in Calabar has dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples’ Democratic Party and it’s gubernatorial candidate in Cross Rivers State, Senator Sandy Onor, seeking the disqualification of the candidate of the All Progressive Congress candidate and running mate.

THE WHISTLER had earlier reported in January that the Calabar Judicial Division of the appellate court had reserved judgment in a case filed by the PDP governorship candidate, Sen. Sandy Onor against Sen Prince Bassey Otu, the flagbearer of the APC.

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The duo are in the race for Cross River governorship position during the March 11 poll.

Senator Onor told the appellate court that Otu had to be disqualified from the race for allegedly holding dual citizenship.

His counsel,Baba Isa, also argued that Otu (the 3rd defendant) should be disqualified on the grounds that he allegedly did not formally resign from the PDP before joining the APC.

But counsel for the 1st defendant, APC, Essien Andrew, SAN, contended before the court that decamping from one political party to another amount to defection as well as resignation from the former, adding that the court should strike out the case.

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On his part, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, counsel for the APC candidate and his deputy, Hon. Peter Odey, urged the court to “strike out the matter with a very heavy cost so that they will not come back again.”

He contended that the Electoral Act, 2022 forbids the appellant and the PDP from challenging his client in court because they were not aspirants during the APC governorship primaries.

He also urged the court to uphold the verdict of the lower court which affirmed the candidacy of his clients.

Passing its judgement on February 4, 2023, the court of appeal dismissed the appeal by the PDP and its candidate saying it was lacking in merit.

A 3-man panel of the Court of Appeal, presided over by Hon. Justice Raphael Chikwe Agbo, held that the PDP candidate had no right to challenge the internal affairs of another political party.

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The panel also upheld the decision of the Federal High Court, saying the “issue of membership of political party was not justiciable and that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain same.”

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