On Thursday, a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt dismissed 14 House of Assembly candidates of the New Nigeria People’s Party in Rivers State for “non-compliance” with the Electoral Act during the party’s primaries.
The state’s Peoples Democratic Party had taken the NNPP candidates to the Federal High Court, seeking their disqualification.
In his decision, the presiding Judge, Justice Turaki Muhammed, stated that the PDP was able to demonstrate to the court that the NNPP did not follow the guidelines outlined in the new Electoral Act during their party primaries.
As a result, the judge ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to cease recognizing the affected individuals as candidates.
The latest ruling comes just a few days after a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt declared all APC primaries in Rivers State null and void.