Valentine Ozigbo, a governorship aspirant under the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State, has filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Awka, seeking the nullification of the party’s April 5, 2025 primary election results.
Ozigbo, in the suit filed on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, is challenging the emergence of Nicholas Ukachukwu as the party’s candidate.
The APC, Ukachukwu, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are named as defendants in the case.
According to results from the primary held at the Dora Akunyili Women Development Centre in Awka, Ukachukwu secured a total of 1,455 votes to clinch the party’s ticket.
Ozigbo came in second with 67 votes, while other contenders, Johnbosco Onunkwo and Edozie Madu, scored 26 and eight votes respectively.
Represented by a legal team led by Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Umeh Kalu and B.C. Igwilo, Ozigbo’s case is backed by documents drawn from the party’s constitution, internal communications, and the delegate registers.
The suit calls for the court to assess whether the APC followed its own rules in the conduct of the primary, especially concerning Ukachukwu’s qualification to contest.
In a personal statement released alongside the court filing, Ozigbo minced no words in condemning the process. Titled “For a future worth fighting for”, the statement described the primary as fraudulent and stage-managed.
“When institutions falter, it is the duty of conscience to rise. I have taken that stand—not for self, but for truth, for justice, and for Ndi Anambra,” he declared.
He further stated: “On Wednesday, April 16, 2025, I took a consequential step in fighting for truth and justice.”
“I filed a lawsuit challenging the legitimacy of the deeply flawed process that purportedly produced Mr Nicholas Ukachukwu as the flagbearer of our great party, the APC, for the November 2025 Anambra governorship election.”
Ozigbo decried the entire conduct of the primary, suggesting that it was manipulated from the outset.
“Let us be clear: the April 5, 2025 exercise was not a primary election—it was a well-scripted illusion. A contrived delegate list filled with names unfamiliar to even the most seasoned party leaders was used for the guber primary.”
“Real APC members were locked out while chaos reigned. No accreditation, no order; just thugs, violence, and a herd of hired hands masquerading as delegates.”
In addition to procedural irregularities, he also alleged that Ukachukwu did not meet the eligibility requirements laid out in the APC constitution.
As at the time of filing this report, the court has yet to assign a date for the hearing.
