Supreme Court Rejects APC’s Appeal To Nullify Enugu State Governorship Election
In a ruling considered significant, the Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal lodged by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate in the previous Enugu State governorship election, Uche Nnaji, seeking to overturn the victory of Peter Mbah of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Uche Nnaji, who garnered 14,575 votes and secured the fourth position in the election, challenged the eligibility of Peter Mbah, Chijioke Edeoga from the Labour Party, and Frank Nweke Jr. from the All Progressives Grand Alliance.
Uche alleged that these candidates had violated asset declaration laws and sought their disqualification.
However, on June 20, 2023, the Enugu State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, presided over by Justice K.M Akano, dismissed Nnaji’s petition.
Dissatisfied with this verdict, Nnaji escalated the matter to the Court of Appeal, requesting that the tribunal re-examined his petition.
Unfortunately for Nnaji, the Enugu Division of the Court of Appeal upheld the tribunal’s decision and ordered Nnaji and the APC to pay N250,000 each.
In the latest development, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court delivered its judgment on Friday.
Justice Tijani Abubakar, in the lead judgment, stated that the legal team representing the APC and Nnaji had submitted an invalid brief of argument, as they failed to provide convincing reasons for the court to accept their flawed submission.
Justice Abubakar emphasized that the invalidity of the appellants’ brief also tainted the appeal itself.
Consequently, the Supreme Court determined that the defective nature of the brief had a direct impact on the substantive appeal.
With this ruling, Peter Mbah’s victory in the Enugu State governorship election remains intact, marking a pivotal moment in the legal battle over the election outcome.
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