Anambra: Court declines application to stop Soludo’s nomination as APGA candidate

A Federal High Court, sitting in  Awka Anambra State and presided over by Justice  Hyeladzira Nganjiwa has declined an application to stop Prof. Chukwuma Soludo as the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance in the November 6 poll in the state.

The court dismissed the application of an order of mandamus filled by a factional leader of APGA, Chief Edozie Njoku

Njoku was seeking the court to recognise him as the National Chairman of APGA so as to authorise his faction to conduct the  governorship primary election to produce the  party’s candidate  in the poll.

Njoku had through his  lawyer, Sopulu Ezeonwuka,  approached the court vide Suit No. FHC/AWK/CS/35/2021 praying the court to inter alia, recognize him (Chief Edozie Njoku) as the National Chairman of APGA and to compel him to conduct primary election on behalf of APGA.

But in a ruling on Thursday, the  court held that the reliefs sought by the applicant was substantially the same as the reliefs sought in the substantive suit.

The court ruled that granting such application would prejudice the hearing of the substantive suit before the court.

The factional APGA group had  on Tuesday held  a primary election  of the party at Finotel Hotel, Awka, amidst tight security where Chief Edozie Njoku emerged as the governorship candidate of the party.

The mainstream APGA led by Chief Victor Oye on July 26 in a primary election held at the Prof Dora Akunyili Women’s Development Centre, elected Soludo as the candidate of the party in the November 6 poll.

THE RAZOR gathered that a third faction  of the party  led by  Chief Jude Okeke on Thursday announced Chief Chukwuma Umeoji as its candidate of the party in the November election.