The Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed Senator Athan Achonu as the governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) ahead of the November 11, 2023 governorship election in Imo State.
It will be recalled that one of the governorship aspirants of the LP, Basil Maduka, had after the party’s primary election, objected and challenged Achonu’s candidature and approached a Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal before the matter arrived the apex court.
Ruling on the matter, the Supreme Court on Thursday threw out the case against Achonu on the ground that it lacked locus standi.
The panel of five justices led by Justice Iyang Okoro also cautioned the appellant for abusing court process and wasting the time of the courts all through from the lower courts.
Two other respondents in the matter were the Lamidi Apapa-led faction’s candidate, Joseph Ukaegbu, a.k.a Ikenga and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
Speaking with journalists shortly after the judgment, the counsel to the Labour Party, Barrister Okwudili Anozie, said the controversy surrounding the candidature of Achonu has been put to rest.
According to him, “Today at the Supreme Court, the antics of Basil Maduka and his accomplice Joseph Ukaegbu, alias Ikenga, was put to an end as they met their waterloo at the Apex Court.
“Today was a culmination of their deceit and lies to Imolites spanning from their misrepresentation of the true position of the judgments of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.
“Upon the exposure and collapse of their lies before the Supreme Court today, Basil’s Counsel, with tails in between his legs, immediately withdrew his subterfuge appeal that was aimed at giving credence to Ukaegbu’s sham, non-existent primaries.”
Achonu, lost one of his arms in 1970, may become the first physically challenged governor in Nigeria if elected in the forthcoming election.
