THE Court of Appeal, Enugu Division has shifted its ruling on the suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the 2007 elections in Anambra State, Dr. Andy Uba, to November 13, 2009.

Uba was scheduled to know his fate yesterday in his renewed effort to succeed Governor Peter Obi based on the declaration by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that he won the 2007 governorship race.

No reasons were given for the shift in the date, which had earlier been communicated to the parties in the case by the appellate court Deputy Chief Registrar, Mrs. Angela Otaluka.

As early as 7a.m. yesterday, court workers, litigants and supporters of Uba had started arriving at the court premises.

Moments later, an Armoured Tank belonging to the Enugu State Police Command was moved in, while detachments of regular and mobile policemen took strategic positions on the routes leading to the court.

About 20 minutes later, the policemen began to block the entrances to the court and diverting vehicles to alternative routes, while journalists, who had also arrived at the venue earlier, were kept in the premises.

At 8 a.m. Otaluka emerged from inside the court building, clutching notice of hearing papers, which she began to read to the court clerks and other workers, as well as directing them to serve the notice on the parties.

When confronted on the sudden shift, Otaluka said she could not talk to reporters and boarded her white cream official car, saying, "you pressmen have your recording machines and I don't want to be recorded."

Some litigants and lawyers who only got to know about the postponement on arrival in court yesterday, expressed displeasure that the matter could be moved forward, stressing that the judgment was required to douse the crisis in Anambra State over next year's election.

One of the applicant's counsel, Chief Nobis Elendu, confirmed that they had been served with the notice of hearing of the matter, which he said had been fixed for November 13.

The Supreme Court aborted Uba's dream when it restored Obi to office, ruling that his tenure will end on March 17, 2010.

Uba is however relying on the strength of the Certificate of Return issued to him by INEC as the winner of the April 21, 2007 governorship election to ask the Appeal Court to order his swearing in at the expiration of Obi' tenure.

The appellate court had earlier declared Uba's election as "intact" even though he was removed as governor after 17 days in office following the Supreme Court ruling that the election which he won ought not to have held as there was no vacancy in Anambra Government House.

The Appeal Court presided over by Justice J. S. Ngwuta, had at its sitting penultimate week, adjourned indefinitely for ruling after counsel to the parties adopted their written addresses.