Supreme Court strikes out request to review own judgment on Ebonyi PDP guber ticket

Chigozie Ikpo, Abuja

The Supreme Court has struck out a request by a factional governorship aspirant in Ebonyi, Sen. Obinna Ogba, for a review of its Sept. 14 judgment upholding Chief  Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii as the state Governorship Candidate of the PDP in the 2023 elections.

The apex court, presided over by Justice Amina Augie, on Friday struck out the request, following the dramatic withdrawal of a motion to that effect by Chief Paul Erokoro, SAN, counsel to Ogba.

Erokoro had attempted to argue for a prayer for the court to review its earlier judgment which recognised Ifeanyi as the PDP governorship candidate.

However, sensing the mood of the court to the request, the senior lawyer beat a retreat and dramatically withdrew processes filed on behalf of his client when it became apparent that the Apex Court would not yield to the request.

Before the withdrawal, counsel to Chukwuma, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, had opposed the request of the factional governorship candidate on the ground that it constituted a gross abuse of the apex court.

Uche, who led a team of senior lawyers in the matter, had prayed the court to uphold its finality policy as the highest court in the land, adding that any attempt to grant the request of Ogba would not augur well for the judiciary.

The senior lawyer pleaded with the apex court to turn down the request for being frivolous, unmeritorious, and a strange invitation that must not be honoured by the court.

The Supreme Court had on Sept. 14 in its judgment in an appeal marked SC/CV/939/2022, affirmed Chukwuma Odii Ifeanyi as the authentic PDP governorship candidate.

He had emerged from a primary election conducted by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.

The court had struck out the appeal on the ground that nomination of candidates for elective office was an internal affair of political parties and that no court had jurisdiction to entertain it.

However, dissatisfied, Ogba returned to the same court, seeking a review of the judgment.