A Federal High Court in Abuja has upheld Thomas Ereyitomi as the All Progressives Congress candidate for the Warri Federal Constituency House of Representatives election in Delta State.
Justice Mohammed Umar dismissed a suit filed by APC aspirant Ekpoto Emmanuel challenging Ereyitomi’s nomination.
Emmanuel had asked the court to nullify Ereyitomi’s candidacy, alleging that he belonged to both the APC and the Nigeria Democratic Congress at the time of the party primary.
He also sought to be declared the lawful candidate on the ground that he placed second in the primary.
The APC, the Independent National Electoral Commission and Ereyitomi opposed the suit, arguing that questions of party membership were internal affairs outside the court’s jurisdiction.
Justice Umar agreed with the defendants.
The court held that once a political party’s authorised organs had screened and cleared an aspirant, questions surrounding the person’s membership ordinarily remained within the party’s internal processes.
The judge also noted that INEC said it had no record establishing the alleged dual membership and that Ereyitomi had provided evidence of his APC registration.
Umar concluded that the plaintiff’s claims centred essentially on party membership and were therefore not justiciable.
The suit was consequently dismissed for lack of merit.
