A file photo of the APC flag.
The Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State has called for an end to pre-election litigations in the state, saying what the people need is a contest of ideas to enable the election of best candidates that will serve the interest of the South-South State.
The call followed the party’s victory at the Appeal Court yesterday in which its candidates were cleared to contest the 2023 elections in the state, against the October 25 judgement of a Federal High Court which disqualified the candidates.
Spokesman of the APC Campaign Council in Rivers State, Sogbeye Eli advised the plaintiffs in the matters that were decided by the yesterday to resist the temptation of approaching the Supreme Court, because the dictates of the judgement delivered by the Appellate Court clearly shows that, under the new electoral law, only an spirant who took part in the primary of a political party can challenge the process in court.
WWW.SEARCHNG.NG – Search on Sells.ng Nigeria's First Ecommerce Shopping Search Engine ...For More About This Post: I’m Going To Be A Stepping Stone To An Igbo President – Atiku
He said going to the Apex Court will amount to giving false hope to their supporters, because the panel of judges clarified that even a member of a political party cannot contest the process of the party’s primary, if suche a member was not an aspirant.
According to him, although the litigation caused the party some precious time to plan its campaigns, the wait is a necessary sacrifice for democracy to survive.
The spokesman of the Rivers APC Campaign Council, Sogbeye Eli, however, called on political parties that are fielding candidates for next year’s elections in Rivers State to “approach democracy with utmost decency”, and match his party, the All Progressives Congress with ideas.
He said the people of Rivers State deserves to select from a pool of candidates who can best represent their interest and the future of the state, boasting that his party parades such people who have proven integrity in public service and corporate management, especially its Governorsip Candidate, Mr. Tonye Cole.
The victory at the Appeal Court yesterday was on four cases, with at least two more to be dispensed with at the Appeal Court, still on a similar subject matter.
The four cases that were decided on yesterday are:
CA/PH/496/2022 (All Progressives Congress v. George Orlu & Ors), CA/PH/505/2022 (Nwankwo Ndubuisi Ozoije & 47 Ors v. George Orlu & 7 Ors), CA/PH/519/2022 (Tonye Patrick Cole v. All Progressives Congress & 7 Ors) and CA/PH/521/2022 (Independent National Electoral Commission v. George Orlu & 6 Ors).
The panel of Justices of the Court of Appeal was presided over by Justice M. L. Shuaibu.
The pending cases are the toe which bothered on the disqualification of the APC Govenoraship Candidate in Rivers State, Mr. Tonye Cole on the grounds of his dual citizenship and the disqualification of the candidates for 16 State Constituencies on the grounds that the primaries that produced the 16 candidates was not monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The spokesman of the APC Campaign Council in Rivers State, Sogbeye Eli who commended “the noble Lords of the Court of Appeal for their fidelity to the Constitution and the rule”, asked members of the party in the state to continue keeping faith as they proceed to clear the legal hurdles in the two remaining appeals.