The Awka Division of the Court of Appeal has affirmed Victor Umeh as the candidate of the Labour Party for the Anambra Central senatorial district.

The court, in its judgment, held that the suit which supposedly disqualified Mr Umeh at the Awka Division of the Federal High Court was statute-barred and lacked locus.

Justice Olubunmi Oyewole, who read the judgment via Zoom, allowed the two appeals by the Labour Party and Mr Umeh to stand.

Mr Umeh was dragged to the federal high court by the Peoples Democratic Party and Uche Ekwunife, the senatorial candidate of the PDP, on the grounds that he did not resign from the All Progressives Grand Alliance before picking the Labour Party ticket.

The court presided over by Justice Hyeladzira Nganjiwa in a judgment on January 27 granted the prayer and disqualified Mr Umeh.

The Labour Party and Mr Umeh, through their counsel, Alex Ejesieme and Patrick Ikwetoh, appealed the judgment for lack of locus by the respondents and prayed the court to set aside the judgment.

Reacting to the judgment, Beluolisa Nwofor, counsel to Ms Ekwunife, said he would appeal the judgment.

(NAN)