The court, in its judgment, directed INEC and the PDP to conduct a rerun primary election due to the nullification.

The Appeal Court in Owerri has stopped the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from holding a rerun primary election for the Aboh Mbaise/ Ngor Okpala federal constituency in Imo state. The court in a ruling on Thursday restricted both INEC and the PDP from conducting a rerun primary election pending the outcome of the applicant’s appeal at the Supreme Court. It was learnt that a Federal High Court in Abuja had last week cancelled the PDP primary election for Aboh Mbaise/Ngor Okpala federal constituency which produced Albert Agulanna as the winner. The court, in its judgment, directed INEC and the PDP to conduct a rerun primary election due to the nullification. However, Justice Rita Pemu of the Appeal Court held that the election has to wait because of an appeal filed by the applicant, Uzoma Ugochukwu against PDP, INEC, Bede Eke and Albert Agulanna. It, therefore, halted the conduct of the election pending the hearing and the determination of the applicant’s appeal before the supreme court. Justice Pemu submitted that “Accordingly, it is hereby ordered as follows, that the order of this honourable court made on January 20, 2023, ordering a fresh primary election for Aboh Mbaise/ Ngor Okpala federal constituency of Imo State pending the hearing and final determination of the applicants appeal before the supreme court on the propriety of the said order of fresh primary be and is hereby stayed. “Consequently, by this order, the first and second respondents are hereby restrained from enforcing in any way whatever the judgement of this court delivered on 20th of January, 2023, by way of conducting a fresh primary election for Aboh Mbaise/ Ngor Okpala federal constituency.”

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