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Justice Garba Ringim of the Federal High Court sitting in Owerri, the Imo State capital has nullified the candidacy of Mr Frank Ibezim to represent the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Imo North senatorial district bye-election.
Delivering the judgement on Friday, the Court also nullified the victory of Ibezim as the winner of the APC primaries conducted on September 3, 2020.
The presiding judge, thereafter, declared Senator Ifeanyi Araraume as the authentic winner of the primary election and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately substitute Ibezim’s name with that of Senator Araraume.
Ibezim’s candidacy was nullified on the ground that he did not participate in the September 3 primary election of the APC.
According to Justice Ringim, this is because there was a petition by the APC Screening Committee that he and five others were disqualified for not meeting basic requirements.
He held that any vote allotted to Ibezim was a nullity in the eyes of the law.
Reacting to the judgement, one of the counsels to the plaintiff, Wale Olajide, commended the court for doing a thorough job.
He noted that the grounds in which his client approached the court had been affirmed by the judge.
