Politics
Contradictory court orders as Ararume, Ibezim fight over Imo North senatorial by-election
BY KAZIE UKO
There still appears to be no end in sight over who will represent Imo North Senatorial Zone at the Senate as gladiators, Ifeanyi Ararume and Chukwuma Ibezim, both of the All Progressives Congress (APC), continue to throw up order and counter order of the court.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared the APC winner of the December 5, 2020 by-election but without a candidate.
INEC said its decision not to attach a candidate to the APC win was as a result of unresolved pre-election litigation between Ararume on one hand and Ibezim and APC on the other, which ultimately left the party without a recognisable candidate.
The electoral umpire consequently resolved to allow the courts decide who between Ararume and Ibezim is the legitimate APC candidate to the Imo North senatorial seat.
READ: Supreme Court resolves Imo by-election in favour of Ibezim
In continuation of the bid to resolve the conundrum, a Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to declare Ararume as the winner of the by-election, to occupy the seat left vacant with the death of Senator Benjamin Uwajumogu.
The Punch reports that Justice Taiwo Oladipupo Taiwo held in a judgment that Ararume remained the authentic candidate of the APC in the election as of today and should be declared the winner of that election.
The judge also ordered the electoral body to issue a Certificate of Return to Ararume within 72 hours from the delivery of the judgment for him to be formally inaugurated by the Senate President.
Justice Taiwo dismissed the preliminary objection filed by the APC and one Chukwuma Francis Ibezim challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain Ararume’s suit.
READ: Drama as APC wins Imo senatorial by-election without candidate
The judge held that the objection lacked merit because Ibezim being purported by APC as its candidate in the by-election had been disqualified by a Federal High Court and later Court of Appeal for supplying false information to INEC to secure clearance for participation in the election.
Ararume had, through his counsel, Ahmed Raji (SAN), told Justice Taiwo to invoke the judgments of a Federal High Court and that of Appeal Court to disqualify Ibezim and declare him as the rightful candidate for APC.
Raji said that the judgments of the high court and later the Court of Appeal have conclusively disqualified Ibezim and cannot claim to be an aspirant or candidate in the Imo North Senatorial election.
In opposing Ararume’s suit, APC had told the court that it never fielded Ararume for the last year December senatorial by-election for Imo North Senatorial District.
The party had, insisted that Ararume lacked locus standi to lay claim to the candidacy because he did not even come second in the primary election conducted for candidate nomination and urged the court to dismiss his suit.
READ: Senate suspends plenary in honour of Uwajumogu
Ararume had dragged the INEC, APC and Ibezim before the Federal High Court praying for an order to compel INEC to recognise him as APC senatorial candidate in the election won by the party.
He claimed that Ibezim, having been disqualified by a Federal High Court on account of supplying false information to INEC to secure clearance and the disqualification having been upheld by the Court of Appeal in Abuja, can no longer lay claim to the outcome of the by-election.
But the APC, through its counsel, Osho Daudu asked the court to discountenance Ararume’s claims insisting that his name was never forwarded to INEC but that of Chukwuma Francis Ibezim.
The counsel submitted that a federal high court judgment delivered in Owerri, Imo State which erroneously conferred locus on Ararume had been voided by Supreme Court and cannot confer any advantage on the plaintiff.
Emma Osayomi, representing Ibezim, in his own submissions had said that his client has approached the Supreme Court to challenge his disqualification on account of variation in his name.
The counsel argued that as at the election day, the name of his client was on the INEC list and not that of Ararume and urged the court to dismiss Ararume’s claims and hold that Chukwuemeka Francis remains the APC candidate.