S-Court sack Okosa Anambra PDP faction senators, Reps

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(Nigeria) The Supreme Court on Friday sacked Chief Chukwudi Okasa faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, three senators and 11 members of the House of Representatives representing Anambra.
The senators are Andy Uba, Stella Oduah and Uche Ekwunife, even though the Court of Appeal, Enugu, nullified the election of Ekwunife.
Delivering judgment, Justice Binta Ogunbiyi held that the lawmakers were illegally foisted on the PDP by an unrecognised state executive of the party led by Chief Okasa.
Ogunbiyi held that the Chief Ejike Oguebego-led executive was the only constitutionally recognised leadership of the PDP to conduct the party’s primaries.
The decision prematurely terminates the tenure of the former Aviation minister Oduah in the senate.
It also quashed the legislative career of Sen. Andy Uba, presidential aide to former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Ogunbiyi held that the candidates who emerged from the primaries conducted by the Oguebego-led group were the true representatives from the state to occupy the vacant seats.
``The decision of the apex court is done to restore justice and discourage impunity in the polity. The judgment also lays out the proper procedures for selection of political parties legislative candidates,’’ she held.
Mr Chris Uba, Sen. Andy Uba younger brother and Prince John Emeka are expected to take over the seats vacated by Uba and Oduah respectively.
It will be recalled that a bye-election will be conducted to fill the senatorial seat occupied by Sen  Ekwunife, who was sacked on December 2015 by the Court of Appeal.
In December 2014, the Federal High Court had ruled that the Ejike Oguebego-led executive was the only constitutionally recognised leadership of the party in Anambra that could conduct the PDP primaries.
Despite that ruling, the parallel state executive of the PDP led by Chief Okasa went ahead to conduct parallel primaries.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and the PDP National Working Committee, NWC), supervised the primaries conducted by Oguebego’s executive on December 6 and 7, 2014 .
At the end of the exercise, the NWC of the PDP and INEC declared Chris Uba winner for Anambra South, Prince John Emeka for Anambra North, and Annie Okonkwo for Anambra Central.

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