C’River Guber: PDP concedes to appeal seeking to disqualify Gov Ayade 

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) surprisingly conceded to the appeal filed by Joe Agi (SAN) seeking to disqualify Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State, over false declaration of age.

In the Appeal No. SC256/2016, Agi told the apex court that Governor Ayade lied about his age in the nomination form submitted to the Party, contrary to the Party’s guideline.

Agi had in a pre-election matter dragged Senator Ayade, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before a Federal High Court on the ground that Ayade paraded different and conflicting age declarations.

He held that by its constitution, Ayade was not qualified to fly the Party’s flag as the governorship candidate and as such, he (Agi), who came second in the primaries should be declared as the legible candidate of the Party.

In a judgement delivered on July 31, 2015 in a Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/25/2015, Justice Abdul Kafarati dismissed Agi’s case on the ground that the matter was not proved beyond reasonable doubt.

But Agi argued that the decision of the lower courts upholding the preliminary objections of the first (PDP) and third (Ayade) respondents only dealt with one ground of the Appellant’s case without considering the ground of the case bordering on presentation of conflicting age declarations.

He held that the discrepancies in age declaration was contrary to Articles 14 (b) and 15 (2) of the Electoral Guidelines for the Primary Elections 2014 of the People’s Democratic Party and the Electoral Act.

At the hearing of the Appeal Tuesday, Counsel to the PDP, N.P Ibegbulam, urged the five-man panel of the Justices of Supreme Court to find merit in the appeal.

He stated that “in view of the provisions of article 14 (b) and 15 (2) of the PDP, which complements the Section 177 of the 1999 Constitution, which it was discovered that the third respondent violated by making false declaration of age, we want the court to apply articles 14 (b) and 15 (2) of the PDP guidelines, which disqualify anybody that gives false information”.

Ibegbulam of Ferdinand Orbih’s Chambers urged the apex court to find merit in the appeal.

However, Counsel to Ayade, Chief Wale Olanipekun (SAN), asked the court to uphold the concurrent findings of the two lower courts and dismiss the appeal.

According to him, the PDP guideline did not form part of the appellant case at the trial courts, adding that what the appellants were saying in their briefs indirectly was that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was no longer relevant on the ground that the Constitution prescribed conditions for qualifications to contest an election.

He maintained that discrepancies in the age declarations made by Ayade was an error committed by his aides.

Olanipekun also challenged the legal representation of Ibegbulam for the PDP, stressing that the first respondent Counsel ought to have written to the court for change of counsel in line with Order 25 of the Rules of Professional Conduct.

But this was countered by Ibegbulam who stressed that PDP did not need to write the court as it did not change its Counsel.

In his response, Agi’s counsel, Ken Njemanze (SAN), submitted that the concession by the PDP has an important legal consequence on the appeal, that a political party sponsoring a candidate (Ayade) has conceded the case of the appellant as Ayade has made declaration that was clearly inconsistent with his age.

According the counsel, the discrepancies were in violation of PDP’s guidelines and the Electoral Act, stressing that “the guidelines provide that anyone that gives false information should be disqualified”.

He pointed out that the third respondent gave false information to the Party, thus, disqualifying him from being nominated as the flag bearer of the Party.
Njemanze, who noted that the legal action was filed before the governorship election thereby urged the court to allow the appeal.

The court has reserved judgement till December 9.