18th September, 2013
Nigeria ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP insisted on Wednesday that Prince Tony Nwoye remains its candidate for the Anambra State gubernatorial election scheduled for 16, November 2013.
The party said this in reaction to a ruling of a Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Tuesday nullifying the candidature of Nwoye. The Court upheld Nicholas Ukachukwu who contested and came second in the primary won by Nwoye as the right candidate for the gubernatorial election.
In a letter to the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission on Tuesday, the legal team of the PDP led by Joe Gadzama (SAN) affirmed that the Party has duly nominated its governorship candidate for the impending election in line with the electoral act.
“It is worthy of note that this judgment has come exactly on the deadline for the submission of candidates’ names to your esteemed Commission by political parties.
“The Peoples’ Democratic Party had since met up with this deadline, by submitting the name of its candidate, Hon. Tony Nwoye to your Commission, as well as his duly completed nomination forms acknowledged by the Commission,” PDP said in the letter.
The party added that it has filed a Notice of Appeal against the said judgment as well as a Motion for Stay of Execution at the Court of Appeal.
“By this very fact, all matters relating to this judgment are meant to be stayed. In other words, the status quo must be maintained pending the Appeal,” the legal team of PDP said.
While justifying its insistence on Nwoye as its validly nominated candidate for the election, PDP noted that: “Based on the outcome of the primaries conducted by the party, it issued a certificate of return to Hon. Tony Nwoye and submitted his name to the Commission in respect of the Anambra State Governorship Election. The effect in law is that Nicholas Ukachukwu is bound by the list wherein the name of Hon. Tony Nwoye was submitted and the party cannot retract that list or substitute the name of Hon. Tony Nwoye with that of Nicholas Ukachukwu unless Hon. Tony Nwoye withdraws his candidature or dies.”
The party copiously quoted sections 31(1), 33 and 35 of the Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended) to back its position.
The essence of the quoted sections of the Electoral Act, it said is that: “once a candidate has been nominated by his party and his name submitted to the Commission that is the end of the issue of the nomination of the candidate unless he withdraws or dies. Not even the court can stop such nomination.”
“As can be seen by all and sundry, Hon. Tony Nwoye is still very much alive and has not withdrawn his candidacy for the said elections.
“PDP’s submission of his name is therefore, final unless any of the two instances cited above occurs,” the party added.
Another member of the party, Senator Andy Uba who won a parallel primary for the gubernatorial election has also been declared by another court as the PDP lawful candidate for the governorship election taking place 16 November.