In today’s Imo North Senatorial district bye-election, the Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri, yesterday, validated the candidacy of Mr. Frank Ibezim, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the poll.

In the unanimous judgment, the appellate court with three justices, led by Justice U. Onyemenam, held that Ibezim was the authentic candidate for today’s poll.

Other justices who were in the agreement are J. Y. Tukur and M. B. Idris.

They set aside the November 6 judgment of the Federal High Court, Owerri, which had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to replace Ibezim’s name with Araraume, in today’s bye-election under the APC.

The trio held that the lower court had jurisdiction to entertain the matter abinitio, adding that the plaintiff was a “meddlesome interloper” who did not participate in the primaries conducted by the APC, which should not have made him suffer the outcome of the primary.

The appellate court, therefore, set aside the judgment of the lower court, which had favoured Araraume.

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