The dispute over the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidacy for the September 2024 gubernatorial election took a new turn as one of the aspirants, Hon. Anamero Sunday Dekeri, initiated legal action by filing a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/299/2024, Dekeri is seeking the court’s intervention to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the APC to recognize him as the rightful winner of the February 17, 2024, gubernatorial primary election.
Despite being declared the winner of the primary election by the local government returning officers, the APC national leadership declared Senator Monday Okpebholo as the winner on February 22.
According to Dekeri’s legal team, led by counsels Joseph Nwobike, SAN, and Chief Henry Akunebo, SAN, the declaration of Okpebholo as the winner of the rescheduled primary election is deemed invalid, wrongful, and illegal, citing constitutional breaches and electoral laws.
In a letter addressed to INEC, Dekeri’s legal representatives highlighted the alleged violations of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, and the Electoral Act, 2022, as amended, urging the commission not to accept the nomination of Senator Monday Okpebholo as the APC candidate.
Dekeri contends that his right to be declared as the rightful APC candidate for the 2024 Edo State gubernatorial election cannot be overridden by the subsequent declaration of Senator Okpebholo in a supplementary primary election.
The lawsuit signals a deepening of the rift within the APC ranks as the party grapples with internal disputes over its candidate selection process.
