Umahi makes final senate list for 2023 election

From Chinedu Nwafor Abakaliki

Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State has finally been shortlisted by the Independent National Electoral Commission as the APC Senatorial candidate for Ebonyi South zone for the 2023 senatorial election in Ebonyi State.

Mr Umahi was earlier omitted from the list of candidates released earlier in June by INEC following controversy which trailed his emergence as the candidate of the All Progressive Congress(APC) for the election.

The governor had contested for the Presidential primary of the party which he lost to Bola Tinubu while his younger brother, Austin Umahi won the Ebonyi South senatorial primary of the party in May.

However, after the primaries, the younger Umahi withdrew for the governor leading to a rerun primary which the governor contested unopposed.

But the Independent National Electoral Commission refused to list his name as the candidate and instead chose to leave the position vacant.

This led to Umahi dragging INEC to court to compel the electoral umpire to accept his name as candidate of the party.

But, the runner-up to the first primary, Ann Agom-Eze joined the suit and urged the court to recognize her as the candidate of the party.

Justice Fatun Riman in his ruling, however, ordered for another primary with Agom Eze and any other interested fresh candidates allowed to take part.

Mrs Agom-Eze, not satisfied with the ruling, appealed the judgement at the Appeal Country in Enugu and filed for a stay of execution.

But the APC in Ebonyi obtained an order of the Federal High Court to go ahead with the primary which Mr Umahi won even as the matter at the appeal court is still pending