A Federal High Court sitting in Awka, Anambra State, on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, dismissed a case brought against the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu over his nomination as the governorship candidate of the party for the November 8 election.
The Court dismissed the case as lacking in merit.
One of the contenders in the party’s governorship primary, Chief Valentine Ozigbo, had taken the APC and Ukachukwu to Court over what he described as a faulty process that produced the winner.
In dismissing the suit, the Court noted that the Supreme Court in previous decided cases had stressed that the decision of membership of political parties was a prerogative of the particular party.
It held that no other person or court has any jurisdiction to choose a candidate for the party.
Reacting to the verdict, Counsel for APC, Shedrak Ayo, said the court had once again lived up to expectations.
“This is because when you look at the complaint of the plaintiff (Valentine Ozigbo), you will discover that it falls short of the clear provisions of Sec 285,(14a) and Sec 84(14) of the Electoral Act. Section 285(14) states that the complaint must arise from an issue related to construction, the Electoral Act, or the party guidelines. But the entire content of the suit falls short of these copious provisions,” he said
Counsel for Ukachukwu, Joseph Mola Mathew, commended the judgment as a clear delivery of justice, noting that the case ab initio had no merit as it was “dead on arrival”.
He said, “The position of law is clear, that any issue bothering on the membership of a candidate is a domestic affair of the relevant political party. So, to that extent, no court has any jurisdiction in that.
“We were actually surprised when we read the process filed by the plaintiff, which centred squarely on membership. It’s therefore not surprising that the court in its judgement delivered just now stated the position of law, especially the Supreme Court, that no one has jurisdiction to dabble into membership of political parties.”
He also noted that it was trite in law that where the National Working Committee (NWC) of a party had cleared a candidate, no member has the jurisdiction to challenge the same.
