By Vera E. Abah
BARELY 48 hours to the governorship and state legislative elections, the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the nomination of Hon. Herman Hembe as Labour Party’s governorship candidate in Benue State.
A five-member panel of the Supreme Court justices, in a unanimous verdict, delivered by Justice Helen Ogunwumiju, dismissed an appeal filed by Benjamin Iorlumum challenging Hembe’s nomination as Benue State LP’s governorship candidate, for lack of merit.
Iorlumum had challenged the nomination of Hembe, currently a member of the House of Representatives, pleading for his disqualification from the Benue State governorship race on the ground that he (Hembe) participated in the primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Justice Ogunwumiju said the law did not prohibit participation in two primary elections once the participant was not in two political parties at the same time. She therefore dismissed the suit for being unmeritorious and affirmed Hembe’s nomination as the duly elected candidate of the Labour Party for tomorrow, Saturday, March 18’s election.