A chieftain of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) in Abia state, Prof Gregory Ibe says he will challenge the Appeal Court ruling which annulled the primary election that produced him as the governorship candidate of the party in Abia state.
This follows a legal action challenging his candidacy on by another chieftain of the party and a governorship aspirant, Sir Chikwe Udensi.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja in its ruling on Wednesday sustained the nullification of the Abia State APGA governorship primary election of 29 May 2022 by Justice Binta Nyako of the Abuja High Court.
The courts alleged irregularities, a claim Prof Ibe has faulted, stating that it is totally unacceptable and would be challenged at the Supreme Court.
According to him, ”Today I received with utter dissatisfaction the outcome of the Abuja Court of Appeal matter between Sir Chikwe Udensi and I. According to information available to me, the judges denied Sir Udensi his twin prayers of either being declared governorship candidate of our party or ordering a rerun of the primary election. Then in a manner tantamount to playing Father Christmas, the court surprisingly erred by granting a request that was not pleaded by declaring that our party, APGA should not present any candidate during the governorship election of 11 March 2023”.
Continuing, he said, ”This is not only a strange ruling but one that is preposterous and totally unjustifiable. I thereby reject the judgment in its entirety and subsequently announce my decision to seek redress at the apex court. Already my lawyers have been briefed to immediately commence cross appeal proceedings at the supreme court in order to upturn the unfair judgment”.
Speaking further, he said, “There is no doubt that this latest antic is the height of the desperate machinations of enemies of Abia who do not want someone of my pedigree to mount the saddle and offer the people better life. Unfortunately for them their fruitless arrows of attack only make me stronger and more determined to fight for the ultimate liberation of our people from the captivity of backwardness and under development.
Asserting that nature abhors vacuum, he stated that he remains the governorship candidate of APGA in Abia state until otherwise determined by the supreme court and thereby enjoined people of the state, especially his numerous supporters to remain calm while sustaining their solidarity for his candidacy.
“I therefore enjoin Abians to remain undeterred by the desperate efforts of mischief makers in their bid to truncate the march to a new Abia, but to sustain their desire for positive change in the state as represented by my candidacy, since I still remain the flag bearer of APGA until the supreme determines otherwise”, he concluded.
