2013 ANAMBRA GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION

INEC DUMPS Nwoye, Uba,
clears Ukachukwu as PDP candidate

INEC released names of 23 governorship and 18
deputy governorship candidates.
The Independent National Electoral Commission,
INEC, on Tuesday, refused to clear the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, candidate for the November
16 governorship election, Tony Nwoye, who emerged
winner of the party’s primary election held on August
24.
The commission, which released a list of 23
governorship candidates and 18 deputy governorship
candidates to fly the flags of their party, recognised
Nicholas Ukachukwu as the PDP candidate.
The list was contained in a statement by U.F. Usman,
on behalf of the Secretary of the Commission.
Among those cleared to contest the election are Chris
Ngige of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Ifeanyi
Ubah of the Labour Party, LP, and Willie Obiano of the
All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA.
Other parties whose candidates were cleared are AA,
ACCORD, ACD, ACPN, AD, ADC, APA, CPP, DPP, ID,
KOWA, MPPP, NCP, NNPP, PPA, PPN, SDP, UDP and
UPP.
INEC explained that Mr. Ukachukwu was recognized
as the candidate of the party because of a recent
court judgment which was in his favour.
Mr. Ukachukwu, a former member of the House of
Representatives, emerged second to Mr. Nwoye, at
the primary election. He, however, approached a
Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State,
complaining that Mr. Nwoye was not eligible to
participate in the primary for failing to pay his tax as
at when due.
Curiously, the commission did not list Andy Uba, who
emerged winner at the parallel primary election of
the PDP, which INEC monitored.
Mr. Uba, a serving senator and Chairman of the
Senate Committee on INEC, had also approached a
court in Port Harcourt, which declared him as the
authentic candidate of the PDP.
Despite his victory at the court, the national
leadership of the ruling party insisted that Mr. Nwoye
was its candidate. The PDP National Chairman,
Bamanga Tukur, handed over the party’s flag to Mr.
Nwoye late August at a brief ceremony at the party’s
national secretariat in Abuja.
The INEC statement said, “Pursuant to the timetable
and schedule of activities for the Anambra State
Governorship schedule to hold on 16th November,
2013, twenty three (23) political parties submitted
names of candidates they proposed to sponsor at the
election.
“The Commission, after due consideration of the
relevant provisions of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as
amended), the various judgments and orders of the
various High Courts on the candidates for the
election, particularly those of the Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP, and All Progressives Grand Alliance,
APGA, approved that Form CF001 (Personal
Particulars) of this candidates for the election be
published.
“Accordingly, the Form CF001 of the following
candidates as submitted by their political parties or
ordered by the court are now being published in
Anambra State in accordance with the provision of
the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended).
The statement also said it “enjoins all political
parties to ensure that only the candidates above
listed engage in campaigns as candidates of the
political parties.”