A Federal High Court sitting in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State’s capital, has granted the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) request to withdraw a suit it filed against Ebonyi State governor, Francis Nwifuru, challenging his nomination as the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate for the 2023 general elections.
In suit No. FHC/AI/CS/7/2023, the PDP challenged the legality of APC’s selection of Nwifuru as its 2023 governorship candidate on the grounds that he was a member of the party at the time and thus could not have been nominated by APC.
Previously, on February 14, 2023, the court presided over by Justice Fatun Riman dismissed the action on the grounds that it was statute-barred, following a notice of preliminary objection filed against the claim by the first and second defendants, Francis Nwifuru and the APC, respectively.
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PDP, dissatisfied with the court’s decision, asked the court on May 15, 2023, through its counsel, Chief Mudi Erhenede, to set aside its judgment delivered FHC/AI/CS/7/2023 on February 14, 2023, on the grounds that the plaintiff was not served with the preliminary objection filed by the defendants, which led to the case’s dismissal.
Erhenede stated that the court’s consideration of the notice of preliminary objection without being served denied the plaintiff a fair hearing, thus the motion to set aside the ruling.
On Thursday, June 22, 2023, Justice Hyeladzira Ajiya Nganjiwa ruled the judgment null and void, stating that it was rendered without jurisdiction.
Justice Nganjiwa directed, among other things, that the case be relisted on the court’s case list for a new trial.
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