Enugu Agog as Appeal Court Quashes APC’s Petition Against Governor Ugwuanyi

Posted by African Examiner Latest Headlines, News Friday, August 21st, 2015

By IGNATIUS OKPARA, Enugu – The Court of Appeal Enugu Division has quashed the appeal brought before it by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Okey Ezea, in the last April general polls.

AFRICAN EXAMINER reports that the court dismissed the suit for lack of merit and competence.

The APC candidate, filed a petition at the election tribunal sitting in Enugu challenging the declaration by Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as winner at the poll.

Upon hearing of submissions of the respondents counsel, the tribunal struck out some paragraphs of the petition filed by Ezea on the grounds that they were imprecise, vague, related to party nomination and contained criminal allegations against people who were not made parties to the petition.

Shortly after the dismissal of the petition, Ezea proceeded to the Appeal Court Enugu, where he filed an appeal challenging the tribunal’s verdict.

In a unanimous judgment, which lasted for over one hour, the court held that the petitioners’ notice of appeal was not properly signed, adding that it flouted the fundamental requirement in law that a notice of appeal must be signed by an identified petitioner or his legal practitioner.

“The signature of the counsel and name of the counsel who signed the petition was not indicated. Immediately after the signature were names of six legal practitioners and addresses which did not indicate the person that signed the petition.

“It is incurably bad and a fundamental error which makes the notice of appeal incompetent.

“Even if the signature was properly signed, the petition still lacks merit and competence”, the court held