APC senatorial aspirant in Cross River reject Tinubu’s truce, approach court

Fresh trouble is seemingly brewing in Cross River APC following the decision of Mary Ekpere, a Senatorial aspirant in the Central Senatorial District to further challenge the candidacy of speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. William Eteng at the federal high court.

Ekpere while addressing a press conference Sunday in Calabar rejected the reconciliatory effort of the APC presidential flagbearer Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who had asked aggrieved aspirants to sheath sword for the peace and unity of the party.

Recall that the APC presidential candidate Bola Tinubu while in Calabar last year on December 20th at a Town Hall meeting asked all feuding parties to withdraw pending cases relating to the primaries in courts.

And heeding the counsel, Senator John Owan Enoh, a governorship aspirant who participated in the initial primary that produced Prince Bassey Otu complied and agreed along with his supporters to work for the victory of all candidates of the party in the 2023 general elections.

Now, with barely a month for the elections to kickstart in earnest, the senatorial aspirant has headed back to a federal high court to seek the disqualification of Eteng William and supposedly declare her as the authentic candidate of the party in the central senatorial district for the 2023 polls.

The High Court had earlier ordered a new primary following the cancellation of the one conducted on May 28th, 2022 which it ruled that the participation of William Eteng was a breach of section 65 (2) of the 1999 constitution ab-initio and as such Eteng can no longer lawfully participate in the fresh election of December 7th 2022.

However, shortly after the fresh primary, Ekpere again challenged the outcome in Suit No. FHC/A45/CS/2377/2022 between Mary Ekpere Vs Jonah Eteng Williams and 3 others, Ekpere through her Counsel B.J. Akomolafe, SAN is seeking the automatic disqualification of the Central Senatorial primary which was conducted on December 17th, 2022 to elect its candidate in respect of the general election of 2023 based on earlier Abuja High Court judgment presided over by Justice Fadima Murtala Aminu in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/885/2022.

The counsel is also asking the court to declare the participation of Prof. John Inyang in the fresh primary unlawful, null, and void since he was ab-initio not qualified to participate in the new election because he had already withdrawn from the race just as he is seeking for the nullification and invalidation of John Inyang’s 27 votes recorded for him during the election and the 270 votes recorded for Eteng and same to be replaced or substituted with the name of Mary Ekpere and declaring her as the lawful candidate of APC for the central senatorial district election.

In his reaction, an APC stalwart from the central senatorial district, Chief Emmanuel Ubi said he was surprised to see the development even after Tinubu had mediated just a few weeks to the election and called for understanding as this is a huge distraction that could affect the chances of the party at the polls. He called on the state leadership of the party to intervene quickly at this crucial stage of the election.

By: Archibong Emmanuel
(Snr. Reporter)