AWKA, Nigeria — 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, challenging the legality of the April 5 primary election that produced Nicholas Ukachukwu as the party’s flagbearer.
Through his legal representatives, Umeh Kalu and B.C. Igwilo, Ozigbo is urging the court to nullify Ukachukwu’s nomination and compel the APC to declare him (Ozigbo) as the rightful candidate for the November 2025 election. The APC, Ukachukwu, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are all named as defendants in the suit.
In a personal statement titled “For a Future Worth Fighting For”, Ozigbo condemned the APC primary as a “well-scripted illusion,” alleging that the process was fraught with irregularities, violence, and manipulation.
Ukachukwu emerged from the primary with 1,455 votes, significantly ahead of Ozigbo (67 votes), Johnbosco Onunkwo (26 votes), and Edozie Mad (8 votes). However, Ozigbo insists that the outcome was engineered through a “contrived delegate list” filled with unfamiliar names, which excluded authentic APC members and allowed “hired hands” to masquerade as delegates.
“There was no accreditation, no order—just thugs and chaos,” Ozigbo alleged. He further accused Ukachukwu of failing to meet the eligibility criteria set by the APC constitution and criticized his indifference to the internal crisis tearing through the party in Anambra.
Describing the primary as a “theatre of deceit,” Ozigbo declared, “This is not about personal ambition. It’s about truth, justice, and the future of our party. The APC in Anambra is crumbling under the weight of a flawed process, and we cannot stand by in silence.”
He continued, “Our goal is not to divide the party, but to defend its integrity, to restore trust, and to ensure that democratic principles are upheld.”
The Federal High Court has yet to set a date for the hearing.
