From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi
Supreme court on Monday in Abuja, affirmed the candidature of Mr. Joseph Waya, as the duly elected Governorship candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) for Benue in the 2023 General Elections.
In its unanimous ruling read by Justice CC Nweze, the panel of five judges, said the Appeal Court had no business interfering with the evaluation of evidence of the trial court.
They averred that the trial court rightly evaluated the evidence before it and found that the first respondent, Prof Priscilla Aka, failed to prove her case on the balance of probability.
The court, therefore, ordered the relevant government organs to include the party’s name on the ballot papers of the Governorship elections.
It will be recalled that the first respondent, who failed to clinch the party’s nomination ticket for the 2023 general elections, dragged the party, its candidate and INEC to court on account of irregularities and disenfranchisement of its supporters during the exercise.
Having lost at the trial court, the first respondent proceeded to the Appeal Court where she was granted temporary respite, which was overturned on Monday.
By this verdict from the apex court, the party and its candidates are set for the Saturday polls.
It should be noted that APGA is the only party that has an Igede man Dr. Isaac Ode as a running mate.
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