The Young Progressives Party (YPP) has asked a Federal High Court in Awka to interpret Section 285 (14)(c) of 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), Section 87(1) of the Electoral Act (2010) as amended, and the Regulations and Guidelines for the conduct of party primaries as provided by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the conduct of the 2021 Anambra State gubernatorial election in view of the primary elections conducted by People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In suit No FHC/AWK/C5/53/21 filed at the Federal High Court Awka on its behalf by D.C DeNwigwe, the party asked the court to determine the validity or otherwise of the purported primaries which the PDP conducted on June 26, 2021.
According to the party, in view of Rule 4.5.1 and 4.5.2 of the guidelines for the Conduct of Political Parties Primaries 2018, the court should determine if the PDP’s purported primary is valid following the party’s failure to submit the list of its delegates seven days before the date of the primaries.
The party further referenced the judgment of the FCT High Court in Suit No. FCT/HC/BW/CV/160/2021 between Akaeze Ugochukwu Vincent and People’s Democratic Party, and the decision of the Supreme Court in APC V. Marafa (2020) 6 NWLR (Pt. 1721) and asked the court to determine if INEC was right not to have barred the PDP from holding the purported primary on June 26, 2021 that produced Valentine Ozigbo as the party’s flag bearer for the state’s 2021 governorship election and from further participation in the process of nomination of candidates for the aforementioned election.
The YPP also asked the court to determine whether INEC in view of the commission’s Monitoring Committee Report on the aforementioned PDP primary and the decision in APC vs. Marafa (2020) 6 NWLR (Pt. 1721), can choose when to enforce the provisions of the Electoral Act, Rule 4.5.1 and 4.5.2 of the guidelines for the Conduct of Political Parties Primaries 2018 which require parties to submit their delegate lists to the commission seven days before their primaries.
