The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) factional candidate for governor in Ebonyi State, Senator Joseph Ogba, had petitioned the Supreme Court for a review of its September 14, 2022 decision upholding the nomination of Chukwuma Ifeanyi Odii as the party's candidate for the upcoming governorship election. The petition was denied by the court.
Following an application to have the motion withdrawn by Ogba's attorney, Paul Erokoro (SAN), a five-member supreme court panel, chaired by Justice Amina Augie, announced its decision on Friday.
Obii's attorney, Chris Uche (SAN), opposed to the motion for the court to revisit its prior verdict on the matter before Erokoro submitted an application to withdraw.
Uche argued that such a motion constituted a gross abuse of the process of the court.
He urged the court it was necessary for the court to preserve its dignity and its finality status by refusing to be persuaded to review it decision on the Ebonyi PDP governorship candidate.
Uche described the motion as frivolous and a waste of the court’s precious time, a position the court’s five-member panel agreed with, following which Erokoro elected to withdraw the motion.
The Supreme Court had, in its earlier judgment on September 14, 2022, in the appeal marked SC/CV/939/2022 affirmed Odii as the authentic governorship candidate of the PDP having emerged from a primary election conducted by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.
The court had struck out the appeal on the grounds that the nomination of candidates for elective office is an internal affair of political parties and that no court has the jurisdiction to entertain it.
Dissatisfied with the judgment, Ogba had filed a motion requesting the apex court to review the decision, a motion the court struck out on Friday.