Godwin Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom State, has been reinstated by the Supreme Court as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Akwa Ibom North Senatorial District.
The Federal High Court in Abuja, which had ruled in favour of the outgoing Minister of Niger Delta Affairs in September of last year, was upheld by the supreme court in a unanimous decision by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa. This decision overturned the Court of Appeal’s decision from November 14, 2022, which had invalidated the former Governor’s candidature.
After analysing the arguments put out by Akpabio, Justice Saulawa ruled that his appeal was meritorious and permitted.
The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision stated that each of the 10 questions raised by the appellant was decided in his favour and against the respondent. In a lead judgement, Justice Ibrahim Saulawa stated that the appeal “succeeds on merit and is allowed.”
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The decision was made in response to an appeal Akpabio filed against the Court of Appeal Abuja’s decision to overturn his victory at the Federal High Court Abuja.
The Supreme Court ruled that the lower court lacked the authority to hear the matter and that any ruling made by the court was null and void.
You may recall that on November 14, 2022, the Court of Appeal in Abuja overturned the decision of the Federal High Court in Abuja that had Godswill Akpabio removed as the APC candidate for the Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District.
Akpabio was found to have violated the rules by failing to provide a proof of arguments within the allotted time, according to a three-judge panel of justices chaired by Justice Danlami Senchi.
The tribunal additionally determined that Akpabio was unable to take part in the APC’s legitimate primary, which produced Udom Ekpoudom as a candidate, because he had run in the party’s presidential primary and was under INEC supervision on May 27.
However, on September 22, 2022, Justice Emeka Nwite of a Federal High Court in Abuja directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to re-nominate Senator Akpabio as the APC’s candidate. Senator Akpabio was the party’s nominee in the second primary on June 9.
The trial court had ordered INEC to recognise the former Niger Delta Minister as the APC’s standard bearer.
As the APC senatorial candidate for the Akwa Ibom North/West senatorial district in 2023, Justice Nwite also ordered INEC to publish Akpabio’s name. He claimed that the Commission had violated the law when it refused to accept and publish the former governor’s name after the APC had submitted it to it as its candidate.
According to Justice Nwite, Akpabio was duly nominated to represent the Akwa-Ibom North/West Senatorial District.
The trial judge criticised INEC for choosing to oversee the unlawful primary held on May 27 by a segment of the party led by Augustine Ekanem rather than the allowed primary held on June 9 by the APC NWC.
