Bayelsa/Kogi guber: Diri, deputy, PDP seek to join APP’s appeal against exclusion

Bayelsa state Governor, Douye Diri and his deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo on Wednesday asked the Court of Appeal to join them as defendants in the appeal filed by the Action Peoples Party (APP) challenging the exclusion of its candidate from the November 2019 governorship election in Bayelsa and Kogi states.

APP had filed the appeal against the decision of the federal high court that allowed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the respondent to the appeal conduct the election without the participation of the APP governorship candidates in the election in Bayelsa and Kogi states.

Besides, Gov. Diri and the deputy governor, their sponsor, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has also filed a similar motion before the appellate court.

Meanwhile, the court has ordered parties to the appeal to file their written responses to the motions for joinder within 24 hours beginning from Wednesday.

A three-man panel of justices led by the acting President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem had earlier granted an accelerated hearing of the appeal.

The appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/218/2020 is challenging the judgment of Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Abuja division of the Federal High Court delivered on February 21, wherein she held that INEC was right to have excluded candidates of the APP in the governorship election in Kogi and Bayelsa states in 2019.

The judgment of the trial court was predicated on the ground that APP replaced its withdrawn candidates outside the statutory period of 45 days to the date of the governorship elections.

Specifically, in suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1163/2019, the APP had among other reliefs, sought the declaration of the court to the effect that “any subsequent conduct of the 2019 Kogi and Bayelsa governorship elections without the replaced candidates of the plaintiff amount to unlawful exclusion of the plaintiff in the said election.

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“A declaration that any subsequent conduct of the 2019 Kogi and Bayelsa states governorship election without the replaced candidates of the plaintiff is null and void by reason of such exclusion.”

When the matter came up on Wednesday, Gov. Diri, his deputy, Senator Ewhrudjakpo and their political platform, the PDP filed separate motions seeking to be joined in the appeal as defendants.

In his motion brought pursuant to Section 6(a) and 36 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, Section 15 of the Court of Appeal Act, Gov. Diri through his counsel, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), urged the court to join him as the second respondent in the appeal.

He argued that as the winner of the governorship election for Bayelsa state held on November16, 2019, sought to be nullified by the appellant, he is a person directly affected by the appeal.

Uche told the court that the appellant deliberately suppressed the fact from the court that it is simultaneously, prosecuting an election petition before the Bayelsa Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in respect of the same complaint and seeking for the nullification of the same election as he is seeking by his current appeal.

According to Uche, the appellant admits participating in the said election and pleading the votes scored by it as 148 votes before the election tribunal in Bayelsa state.

In addition, he said the APP participated in the said election and that its name and logo were both on the ballot papers and on the result aheet, Form EC8E, as well as the wummary of results, Form EC8D.

Counsel to the deputy governor, Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume (SAN), in his motion on notice equally prayed the court for an order to join his client in the appeal as an interested party and a cross-appellant.

Ume also filed a notice of preliminary objection challenging the substantive appeal on the ground that the APP had fully participated in the governorship election.

He further predicated his objections on the ground that the appellant’s appeal disclosed no material and substantial reasons while seeking to set aside an election duly held in accordance with the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act, 2010.

Also, the PDP filed a similar application through its counsel, Adedamola Fanokun.

Meantime, counsel to the appellant, Ezenwa Ibegbunam informed the court that he has filed a counter -affidavit, urging the court to refuse the applications for joinder.

But, counsel to INEC, Alhassan Umar (SAN) said the commission as a nuetral umpire is not opposing the applications for joinder.

In her ruling, the acting President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem ordered that written submissions in response to the applications be filed within 24 hours, in view of the contentious nature of the appeal.

She subsequently adjourned the appeal to April 16.