AN All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Benue State, Terhemba Shija, has proceeded to the Supreme Court to challenge the fresh primary election ordered by the Court of Appeal.
Shija, who contested for the party ticket alongside others, said in a statement issued by the director general of his campaign, James Mbachiantim, that after due consultations with stakeholders and his lawyers, he has decided to appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal delivered on Monday, January, 23.
The three-man panel of appeal court judges ordered fresh primary in 11 of the 23 local government areas of the state within 14 days in a judgment.
Shija explained that the decision of the court threw up specific legal issues that could only be resolved by the Apex Court.
He argued that since the court accepted his submission that there was no APC governorship primary election in Benue State for the 2023 polls at the first instance, there was no basis for a rerun.
“The resolution of the foregoing and several other issues has compelled us to approach the Supreme Court,” Shija said in the statement.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Makurdi, on Monday, nullified the APC gubernatorial primary election and ordered the party to conduct a rerun election in 11 of the 23 LGAs in the state within 14 days.
The court gave the order in an appeal brought before it by Shija against the judgment of a Makurdi Federal High Court, which dismissed a suit he filed to challenge the outcome of the APC gubernatorial primary election in Benue State.
The affected LGAs where the court ordered a rerun include Gboko, Gwer-West, Guma, Katsina-Ala, Logo, Gwer- East, Makurdi, Otukpo, Vandeikya, Ukum, and Tarka.
A reporter with the ICIR
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