Special Assistant to Governor David Umahi on Strategy, Chooks Oko, said Justice Fatun Riman was misled in delivering a judgment on Ebonyi Senatorial APC primaries for the 2023 general election in which the court recognized Princess Ann Agom-Eze, as the candidate of the party.
Oko said this after a Federal High Court sitting in Abakaliki, on Friday, recognised Princess Ann Agom-Eze, as the Senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress, for Ebonyi South Zone after Governor David Umahi through his Counsel, Roy Nweze Umahi, had dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to the Federal High Court in Abakaliki, to compel the commission to recognise the governor as the authentic senatorial candidate for Ebonyi South senatorial District.
Recall that Austin Umahi (the governor’s younger brother), a contender, had withdrawn at the 2nd primary election conducted on June 9, 2022, wherein the governor was reported to have won unopposed.
But Princess Agom-Eze, on Tuesday, approached the court and urged it not to recognise Governor Umahi’s senatorial bid.
Delivering his judgement on Friday 22 July 2022, Justice Fatun Riman, cited section 115 of the Electoral Act 2022, saying the governor was not an aspirant and cannot participate in the election or pre-election matters of the All Progressives Congress as regards the Ebonyi South zone, whose primary held on the 28th day of May 2022.
According to the above section of the new Electoral Act, the governor neither procured forms for nor participated in the election and cannot claim any right based on the primary election.
Oko who was reacting to the judgment described the judgment as fake news and urged the public to disregard it.
He said, “the attention of Ebonyi state Governor has been drawn to mischievous fake news by one Mrs Ann Agom Eze, who contested the Ebonyi South APC senatorial primary election and got one vote, over the court judgement on Ebonyi South APC primaries.
“The judge was misled by Ann Agom Eze who lied on oath that she never withdrew from the contest.
“She further connived with her friend who is a member of the APC Working committee to submit documents purported to be coming from APC national headquarters.
“With this false information and the misleading of the learned judge, the pronouncement of the court was that there should be a rerun election within fourteen days where all the parties should participate.
“Ann Agom Eze and her PDP collaborators are ignorant of the wordings of section 115 of the electoral law they are quoting as the Governor was never a candidate in any two elections as they are oblivious of the difference between a candidate and an aspirant.
“The public is enjoined to ignore the fake news and await the date of the ordered primaries where Ann Agom Eze and her collaborators will face another shame