The Appeal Court in Abuja has ordered a Federal High Court in Abuja to proceed with the hearing of the case filed by Senator Ifeanyi Ararume seeking to be declared as the People’s Democratic Party's governorship candidate for Imo State.

Araraume is challenging the candidacy of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Chukwuemeka  Ihedioha as the party's candidate for the 2015 governorship election.

On Saturday, the appellate court threw out an appeal filed by representatives of all the delegates who voted for Ihedioha at the said primary election seeking to be joined as interested parties in the matter.

The court held that the delegates had no right of appeal since they had not been joined as parties.

The delegates had rushed to the Appeal Court after Justice Ahmed Mohammed ruled that he would hear  the delegates'  applications to join alongside the main suit and the objections filed by Ihedioha.

In striking out the appeal, the appellate court held that only a plaintiff or a defendant could appeal to the court and that since the delegates were neither plaintiffs nor defendants they had no right of appeal.

The case will now come up before Justice Ahmed Mohammed on Wednesday March 4th.

In the substantive suit, Ararume is asking the court to restrain the PDP from forwarding the name of Ihedioha as its governorship candidate for the 2015 governorship election for Imo State.

After refusing an exparte application to stop PDP from submitting Ihedioha's name, the court ordered him and other defendants to appear before it to show cause why Ararume's application should not be granted.

In his originating summons, Ararume who claimed to have scored the highest number of votes cast at the Special Congress of the party held at Grasshopper International Hotel, Owerri Imo State, posed the following questions for determination by the court.

"Whether from the total number of valid votes cast at the Special State Congress of the PDP held at the Grasshoppers Stadium, Owerri, Imo State on December 8, 2014 for the nomination of its Governorship candidate for the 2015 Imo state Governorship election as announced  by its Electoral Committee, the plaintiff scored the highest number of valid votes cast and is entitled to be declared winner and have his name forwarded to the 3rd defendant [INEC] as Governorship candidate of the 1st[PDP] defendant for Imo State having regard to the provisions of section 87 [4] [b] [ii] of the Electoral Act 2010 [as amended] and paragraph 19[n] of the Electoral guidelines, 2014, of the People’s democratic Party.

*Whether having regard to the provisions of section 87 [4] [b] [ii] of the Electoral Act 2010 [as amended] and paragraph 19[n] of the Electoral guidelines, 2014, of the People’s democratic Party, the 2nd defendant [Ihedioha] was validly declared winner of the 1st defendant’s Governorship primaries conducted at the Special Congress of the party held at Grasshopper International Stadium, Owerri Imo State on December 8, 2014 for the 2015 Imo State Governorship election when the 2nddefendant did not score the highest number of valid votes cast.

*Whether having regard to the provisions of section 87 [4] [b] [ii] of the Electoral Act 2010 [as amended] and paragraph 19[n] of the Electoral guidelines, 2014, of the People’s Democratic Party, the 1st defendant can validly submit the name of the 2nddefendant as its Governorship candidate for the 2015 Governorship Election for Imo State when the 2nddefendant did not score the highest number of votes cast at the special state congress of the 1stdefendant party held at Grasshopper International Stadium, Owerri Imo State on December 8, 2014 for the nomination of its Governorship candidate for the Imo State Governorship election.

If the questions are answered in his favour, then, he prayed the court to grant the following claims.

*An order of court declaring that the plaintiff is the Governorship candidate of the 1st defendant for the 2015 Imo State Governorship election.

*An order of court restraining the 1stdefendant from forwarding or submitting the name of the 2nddefendant as its governorship candidate for the 2015 governorship election for Imo state.

*An order of court restraining the 2nddefendant from parading himself as the governorship candidate of the 1stdefendant for the 2015 governorship election for Imo State.

*An order of court restraining the 3rddefendant [INEC] from recognizing, accepting, treating the 2nd defendant and/or publishing the name of the 2nddefendant as the governorship candidate of the 1st defendant for the 2015 governorship election for Imo State.

Source: THISDAY