The Independent National Electoral Commission has stopped recognising Lawrence Ezeh as the senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress for Enugu East, citing a court order.

On a list tagged, “Final list of senatorial candidates”, for the 2019 general elections published on its website on Thursday morning, the electoral body replaced Ezeh’s name with that of Adaku Ogbu-Aguocha.

The change came about three weeks after INEC had concluded the National Assembly elections in which Ezeh was retained as the APC candidate, contrary to the February 19, 2019 judgment of the Federal High Court sitting in Enugu that nullified his candidature.

The court had declared that Ezeh was not properly nominated by the ruling party, being a member of opposition Peoples Democratic Party during the primary election of the APC.

The court had further ruled that the plaintiff, Ogbu-Aguocha, who came second in the APC senatorial primary election held on October 2, 2018, was the rightful candidate since Uchenna Ezemba, who won the primary, had voluntarily stepped down.

Ezemba had, shortly after the primary election, announced her withdrawal to pave the way for Ezeh, who lost his bid to clinch the PDP ticket.

Ezeh, after his defeat in the PDP senatorial primary, defected to the APC where he was given the party’s ticket.

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