The Supreme Court declared Senator Athan Achonu to be the legitimate candidate for the Labour Party on Thursday, ahead of the Imo State governor’s race on November 11.
If Achonu wins the upcoming election, he could become Nigeria’s first physically challenged governor. Achonu lost one of his arms in 1970.
According to OBASANJO NEWS24, one of the candidates for governor, Basil Maduka, objected to and contested Achonu’s candidature after the party’s primary election in both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.
The Supreme Court, in its decision on the subject on Thursday, dismissed the case on the grounds that it lacked locus standi.
The appellant was also warned by a five-judge panel chaired by Iyang Okoro for misusing the legal system and taking up unnecessary court time in lower courts.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, or INEC, and Joseph Ukaegbu, also known as Ikenga, the candidate for the Lamidi Apapa-led group, were two additional respondents in the case.
The Labour Party’s legal representative, Barrister Okwudili Anozie, told reporters shortly after the verdict that the controversy surrounding Achonu’s candidature had been resolved.
He stated, “Today at the Supreme Court, Basil Maduka and his sidekick Joseph Ukaegbu, alias Ikenga, met their waterloo in the Apex Court, putting an end to their pranks.
“Today was the climax of their treachery and lies to the people of Imola, beginning with their inaccurate portrayal of the genuine context of the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal judgements.
Basil’s Counsel instantly dropped his ruse appeal that was meant to support Ukaegbu’s phoney, nonexistent primaries when their lies were exposed and disproved in front of the Supreme Court today.
