A Federal High Court sitting in Enugu, yesterday struck out a suit filed against the emergence of? the deputy Senate president, Ike Ekweremadu as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) in the April 2011 general elections.
The court also affirmed the candidature of two PDP members in the National Assembly, Hon. Ogbuefi Ozomgbachi, representing Udi/Ezeagu federal constituency and Hon. Tobi Okechukwu, representing Orji River Awgu/Animri federal constituency.
John Egesi and others had gone to the court through their counsel, Nestor Ezeme, praying it to declare them the validly nominated PDP candidates for the National Assembly positions in Enugu West senatorial zone.
Egesi, who emerged a factional PDP candidate for the Enugu West senatorial zone, prayed the court to validate the January 6, 2011 primary election as against that of January 11, which produced Senator Ekweremadu and two other members of the House of Representatives from the zone.
Ekweremadu and the other two members of the House, however, filed a preliminary objection through their counsel, Ugochukwu Onyekwuruje, insisting that the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit. They submitted that issues of nomination of candidates was within the authority of the party.
In her judgement, Hon. Justice V.I Agishi stated that it was clearly under the conditions stipulated in 87 (9) of the Electoral Act that an aggrieved person could seek redress in such instance.