National Assembly candidates of the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State have vowed to resist further attempt by Justice Stephen Daylop-Pam of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt to continue hearing the suit seeking to disqualify them from the 2023 general elections.
The candidates said they would rather go to jail than allow the judge continue to hear the suit.
It would be recalled that PDP in the state had dragged the APC to court for not conducting its primaries within the INEC stipulated timetable.
One of the defendants in the suit and candidate of the APC for the Emohua/Ikwerre Federal constituency Ezemonye Ezekiel Amadi while briefing journalists onbehalf of his other colleagues said he had asked the judge to recuse himself from the suit on the last adjourned date.
Amadi accused the judge of having a “deeper than casual” relationship with the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike.
The APC candidates said they do not have any confidence in the outcome of the suit as long as it is allowed to be determined by Justice Daylop-Pam because of his alleged relationship with other interested parties.
Amadi, who read out the position of the candidates said, “We know that the relationship between Justice Pam and Governor Wike is a lot deeper than just causal.
“Any wonder why all the suit filed by the PDP seeking to delist other political parties from the election ballot are all assigned to Justice Pam.
“We are tempted to ask, is Justice Pam the only judge in the Port Harcourt division?
“If justice Stephen Daylop-Pam insists on going on with this case before him despite our repeated protestations that he recuses himself there from, we will vehemently resist him all the way, even if it entails joining Inibehe Effiong in the correctional center.
“It is better for us to go there while preventing justice Pam from hearing our matter”.
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is seeking the disqualification of APC National Assembly candidates for alleged “non compliance with the Electoral Act” during the party primaries.
