Appeal Court Reserves Judgement In PDP’s Case Against Cross River APC Governorship Candidate

The Court of Appeal, Calabar Judicial Division, has reserved judgment in a case filed by the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate, Sen. Sandy Onor against Sen Prince Bassey Otu, the flagbearer of the All Progressive Congress, APC.

The duo is contending for the Cross River governorship position during the March 11, poll.

Senator Onor approached the appellate court insisting that Otu has to be disqualified from the race for allegedly holding dual citizenship.

His counsel,Baba Isa, having failed to get the APC candidate disqualified at the Federal High Court, further maintained that Otu (the 3rd defendant) should be disqualified by the appellate court, alleging that he did not resign from the PDP before joining the APC.

Raising objection to the appellant’s prayers, counsel for the 1st defendant, APC, Essien Andrew, SAN, told the court that decamping from one political party to another amount to defection as well as resignation from the former.

He prayed the court to strike out the case.

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.”

Ozekhome argued that a coordinate court of the same jurisdiction had passed a verdict that only parties that have the right to appear in a court ( locus standi) can institute such a case.

He maintained 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.

Regarding dual citizenship, the learned silk submitted that the law does not deny a Nigerian by birth who has acquired another country’s citizenship, from pursuing his political dreams.

After listening to counsels, the court reserved judgment to a later date to be communicated to parties.