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Court stops INEC from accepting NDC candidate for Imo East

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A Federal High Court sitting in Owerri, Imo State, has barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting any candidate presented by the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the Imo East Senatorial District following a dispute over the party’s primary election.

Justice I. N. Oweibo delivered the judgment yesterday in a suit filed by five senatorial aspirants who challenged the process through which the party’s candidate for the Owerri Zone senatorial seat emerged.

The ruling puts the candidacy of former Secretary to the Imo State Government and former House of Representatives member, Uche Onyeaguocha, in jeopardy ahead of the January 16, 2027 National Assembly election.

The NDC had submitted Onyeaguocha’s name to INEC as its candidate for Imo East, and the electoral commission subsequently published his name among candidates for the election.

The five plaintiffs were among aspirants who purchased the party’s expression of interest forms and underwent screening ahead of the exercise.

They contended that despite participating in the preliminary processes and allegedly paying N20 million each as development fee, the NDC failed to conduct a valid primary election to select its candidate for the senatorial district.

In his judgment, Justice Oweibo held that the party did not conduct a primary election for Imo East in accordance with the required process.

The court consequently ordered INEC not to accept a candidate presented by the NDC for the senatorial district on the basis of the disputed process.

The judgment introduces a fresh legal hurdle for the opposition party barely four months to the National Assembly election.

Onyeaguocha, a lawyer and former federal lawmaker, represented Owerri Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives between 2003 and 2007.

He also served as Secretary to the Imo State Government during the administration of former governor Emeka Ihedioha.

Onyeaguocha contested the Imo East senatorial election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023 but lost to Ezenwa Onyewuchi, who contested on the platform of the Labour Party.

The recent judgment arose from the NDC’s process for selecting its candidate for the same senatorial seat ahead of the 2027 election.