Court sacks Enonyi South PDP candidate, Silas Onu two days to bye-election

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) nominee for the upcoming February 3 bye-election in Ebonyi South, Silas Onu, has responded to his removal by the court just hours before the election.

Onu claims that his disqualification was orchestrated with political motives to demoralize his supporters.

The Federal High Court in Abakaliki, on Thursday, ousted Silas Onu as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the Ebonyi South senatorial bye-election. Justice Hyeladziya Ngajiwa, presiding over the court, ruled that the PDP failed to adhere to the required three-man ad-hoc and one-man national delegates for the primary election.

The judge concluded that Onu was not appropriately nominated as the PDP candidate for Saturday’s election and should be removed from the INEC portal.

In response, Onu has pledged to persist in the electoral process and appeal the High Court’s decision. He encourages his supporters not to be disheartened, emphasizing that the high court is not the final authority on such matters.

The PDP candidate urges his followers to turn out and vote for him on the election day, expressing confidence that their participation is crucial and their votes will be counted.

Onu states, “I am going to appeal the judgment disqualifying me. Today, we received a contrived judgment from the Federal High Court, Abakaliki, stating that the PDP did not give INEC 21 days’ notice of congresses for the by-election. While we acknowledge that the judgment is contrived and deliberately done for political reasons, we are filing our notice of appeal immediately to ensure that we legally continue our participation in the election. Our supporters are called to come out in their numbers and vote for PDP on Saturday, Feb. 3. The Federal High Court is not the final court in pre-election matters, and as such, our participation is sacrosanct, and our votes will count. God bless the PDP and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

The February 3 bye-election in Ebonyi South aims to fill the vacancy left by David Umahi, who was appointed as Minister of Works by President Bola Tinubu.