Former chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Dr Sam Amadi, has advised aspirants who lost in the All Progressives Congress, APC, primary elections to assess whether the process violated electoral laws, party constitution or internal regulations before heading to court.
Speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Tuesday, Amadi said aggrieved aspirants should first examine the conduct of the primaries and determine if there were substantial breaches warranting legal action.
According to him, the Supreme Court’s position on internal party affairs does not completely bar complaints arising from significant violations during party primaries.
“For those who lost out in the APC primary, they should first take stock of the procedure: what happened? Is it a violation of electoral law, violation of the constitution, or violation of internal rules?
“If they are, and the violations are substantial, I think they should have access to court based on the dominant view of the Supreme Court. The notion of internal affair does not exclude every kind of complaint,” he said.
Amadi also clarified that he is not contesting for any elective office in the current election cycle despite campaign posters urging him to run for Senate.
He said the posters were put up by pressure groups and not part of any active campaign by him, adding that he plans to contest in the next governorship election in Imo State, which operates an off-season electoral cycle.
Amadi said: “First, I’m not running for an election. There’s a poster for me to run for senate, but I said no. I had tried to run for governor before, and next year, I will run for governor and decide where and how.
“So, for now, all those posters are pressure groups asking me to run for senate. So, I’m not running for an election this cycle, but I’ll definitely run in the next circle, because Imo is off season. So that clarifies my position. I’m not running for any office now.”
Take stock before court option – Sam Amadi advises aggrieved APC aspirants
