The Federal High Court sitting in Awka has declared the member representing Oyi Constituency in the Anambra State House of Assembly, Hon. Innocent Ojike, as the duly elected and recognised candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for the constituency in the 2027 general elections.
It would be recalled that on May 23, 2026, the APGA National and State Assembly Primary Election Committee declared Ojike the winner of the party’s primary election conducted across the 15 wards of Oyi Constituency.
However, the outcome was subsequently challenged following the emergence of another result, which purportedly replaced the earlier declaration by the party’s duly constituted primary election committee.
The development generated controversy within the party, with supporters of Ojike alleging that the subsequent declaration was irregular and designed to favour another aspirant who, according to them, had come second in the primary election.
They further alleged that certain elements within the party’s national leadership, allegedly in collaboration with the head of the local government administration in the area, interfered with the primary election process and undermined the outcome declared by the electoral committee.
In the pre-election suit filed by Ojike in June 2026, the validity of the subsequent declaration was challenged.
Delivering judgment in the matter on Friday, Justice Evelyn Anyadike reportedly set aside the disputed declaration and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish the name and particulars of Hon. Innocent Ojike as APGA’s candidate for Oyi Constituency in the 2027 general elections.
The judgment effectively recognises Ojike as the candidate produced by the APGA primary election conducted on May 23, 2026, subject to any applicable right of appeal.
The ruling is expected to bring further clarity to the controversy surrounding the party’s nomination for the Oyi State Constituency election.
