On Tuesday, the Supreme Court denied Senator Ita Enang’s request to throw out the APC primary that resulted in Akanimo Udofia’s selection as the party’s candidate for Governor of Akwa Ibom State.
The supreme court also confirmed Udofia as the legitimate APC candidate for governor in the state.
The Federal High Court in Uyo operated without jurisdiction when it annulled the APC primary, but it supported the primary that resulted in Udofia as the governorship candidate, according to Judge Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, who affirmed the court’s ruling.
Enang had asked the court to recognize him as the APC’s legitimate governorship candidate on the grounds that Udofia wasn’t a member when the party held its Governorship primary election on May 26 2022.
Udofia went to the Court of Appeal in Abuja to contest the decision after the Federal High Court in Uyo declared Udofia ineligible to run for governor of the state as the APC candidate in November 2022.
On January 19, the appeal court overturned the lower court’s decision and reinstated him as the APC candidate, claiming that the Federal High Court in Uyo had improperly seized jurisdiction over the case in violation of Sections 97 and 98 of the Sheriffs Act.
Enang appealed the Court of Appeal’s ruling to the Supreme Court because she was unhappy with it.
The trial court stated that it lacked authority to challenge the legality of the waiver granted to Udofia to participate in the primaries. Being an internal affair of the party, the supreme court dismissed Enang’s lawsuit.
