The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has set aside the judgment of Federal High Court Abuja, removing Godswill Akpabio as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District.
In a ruling on Monday,a three-member panel of justices read by Justice Danlami Senchi held that Akpabio failed to file a proof of arguments within the time provided by the rules.
It l further held that Akpabio, being a presidential aspirant of the APC, could not participate in the valid primary of the party held on May 27 and monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which produced Udom Ekpoudom as a candidate.
The development comes barely two months after a Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered INEC to list Senator Akpabio as APC’s candidate for Akwa Ibom North Senatorial District having been nominated by the party in the second primary conducted on June 9.
The trial judge of the lower court , Justice Emeka Nwite held that Akpabio was validly nominated and that the Commission erred by refusing to accept and publish the former Minister’s name when it was submitted to it by the APC as its candidate adding that the May 27 primary was faulty as it was conducted by an illegal faction of the party led by Augustine Ekanem.
