By Emeka Chiaghanam
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has taken its
dispute over the Oyi State Constituency ticket to the Court of Appeal,
challenging the Federal High Court decision that recognised Hon. Innocent Ojike
as the party’s candidate for the 2027 Anambra House of Assembly election.
The appeal follows a September 11 judgment by Justice Evelyn
Anyadike of the Federal High Court in Awka. The court ordered that Ojike’s name
and details be submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) as APGA’s candidate for the constituency.
Ojike, who currently represents Oyi in the Anambra State
House of Assembly, had approached the court after APGA’s May 23 primary
produced competing claims over who won the ticket. Court reports said he
challenged the subsequent declaration of Kosisochukwu Ibemesi as winner.
The disagreement began after the primary exercise held
across the 15 wards of Oyi State Constituency. Ojike’s camp maintained that the
result announced at the venue had declared him winner, while a later result
placed Ibemesi’s name forward as the party’s candidate.
Ojike subsequently asked the Federal High Court to overturn
the later declaration and recognise him as the lawful APGA candidate. In the
case, he also joined APGA, Ibemesi and INEC as defendants, arguing that he had
secured the highest number of votes in the primary.
The court’s September ruling moved the dispute into a new
phase by directing the relevant electoral and party processes towards Ojike’s
candidature. Reports on the judgment said the court set aside the disputed
declaration that had produced Ibemesi as APGA’s candidate.
APGA has challenged that decision at the Asaba Division of
the Court of Appeal. The party contends that the Federal High Court made an
error in law and that the judgment resulted in a miscarriage of justice,
leaving appellate court to examine the arguments.
The fresh legal move has drawn criticism from some APGA
stakeholders, including Hon. Eneh Victor, who wants Governor Chukwuma Soludo to
step into the dispute. Eneh said continued litigation could create further
tension within the party ahead of the election.
Eneh questioned why the party itself decided to appeal the
judgment, arguing that the disagreement should be treated as an internal
dispute between Ojike and Ibemesi. In his view, either affected aspirant should
pursue an appeal personally if dissatisfied with the court’s decision.
He said APGA’s leadership should remain neutral rather than
appear to take sides between two members seeking the same party ticket. Eneh
argued that the party had an interest in protecting its unity and avoiding
actions that could deepen divisions among supporters.
The stakeholder also urged Soludo to intervene before the
dispute becomes more difficult to settle. He appealed to the APGA national
chairman, Barrister Sly Ezeokenwa, to reconsider the party’s approach and
prevent its legal machinery from becoming further involved.
The Oyi contest has therefore moved beyond the original
primary-election disagreement and into a wider legal and political dispute over
the party’s nomination process. Earlier reports also documented calls by APGA
members for Soludo to intervene after the May primary.
The competing claims have left APGA’s position in Oyi under
continuing legal scrutiny ahead of the 2027 election. The Court of Appeal will
now have to consider the party’s challenge to the Federal High Court decision.
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