An Enugu State High Court has granted an ex-parte order restraining a gubernatorial aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ayogu Eze from parading himself as the governorship candidate of the party pending the hearing and determination of a case filed by the plaintiff and the PDP governorship candidate for Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. It also restrained the PDP from recognising or submitting the name of any other person other than Ugwuanyi as the party’s gubernatorial candidate in Enugu State for the February 2015 general elections. Justice R. O. Odogwu issued the order in Suit No E/499/2014 with Senator Ayogu Eze and the PDP as the first and second defendants respectively. The order, which was granted upon hearing the submissions of Ogochukwu Onyekwuluje with Tochukwu Maduka counsel for the plaintiff, read in part: “The 1st defendant/respondent (Senator Ayogu Eze) by himself, his principals, agents, supporters or any other person, howsoever, called is hereby restrained from holding himself out and/or parading himself and/or allowing himself to be held out and/paraded as the gubernatorial candidate of the 2nd defendant for the February 2015 general election in Enugu State pending the determination of the motion on notice already filed in this suit.” “The 2nd defendant/respondent is hereby restrained from recognising or accepting the 1st defendant as the person elected at the said gubernatorial primary election conducted by the 2nd defendant in Enugu State onDecember 8, 2014, and/or the gubernatorial candidate of the 2nd defendant for the February 2015 general elections in Enugu State or forwarding the name of the 1st defendant to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the gubernatorial candidate of the 2nd defendant for the February 2015 general elections in Enugu State pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice already filed in the suit.” The court adjourned till December 15, 2014 for the hearing of the motion on notice. Senator Ayogu Eze had in a statement issued on Tuesday, November 9, 2014, after the PDP governorship primary election claimed he was the duly elected candidate of the PDP. However, the Enugu State Chapter of the party had in a swift reaction on Wednesday, November 10, 2014 denounced his claim, insisting that only one gubernatorial primary election held in Enugu last Monday with Ugwuanyi as the duly elected candidate.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 07:10:08 +0000