The Supreme Court, Friday, nullified the election of Senators Andy Uba and Stella Oduah as it also recognized the Anambra State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairmanship of Chief Ejike Oguebego as the authentic executive.
While Uba represented Anambra South Senatorial district, Odua represented Anambra North Senatorial district.
The ruling by the Supreme Court also directed that the list of senatorial candidates forwarded by the Oguebego-led executive council should be adopted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on issues of the last general election.
With this ruling, the court also acknowledged that Chris Uba, John Emeka and Annie Okonkwo are the duly nominated senatorial candidates for Anambra South, North and Central, respectively, in the March 28, 2015 general election.
Andy Uba, a two-time lawmaker, was former Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, while Oduah was the former Minister of Aviation in the immediate past Goodluck Jonathan administration.
The development means that now all three previously-elected senators of the PDP in the Anambra State Senatorial election have now been removed through the court as earlier in October, Senator Uche Ekwunife, representing Anambra Central senatorial district, was sacked via a ruling by the Court of Appeal instituted by the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA). The court also ordered a re-run in 90 days.
Ekwunife has since defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to seek a ticket to return to the senate.
Reacting to the ruling on Friday, Senator Oduah, in a statement by Cynthia Ferdinand, her Press Secretary said that the reports that the Anambra lawmakers have been sacked “is a mere misinterpretation of the Supreme Court rulings and should be disregarded in all entirety.
The statement said that “The Supreme Court did not order the withdrawal of the Certificates of Return issued by the Commission. It did not hold that the faction of the PDP had the right to sponsor candidates for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“It did not equally authorize the Commission to substitute our clients with the individuals whose names were on the list improperly allowed by the Commission. Series of judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria states that it is only the National Executive of the party that has the vires to sponsor candidates,” she said.
