LP chieftains kick as Kano Court nullifies candidature of Alex Otti, others

BY ORIAKU IJELE

Mixed reactions are trailing the decision of Justice Mohammed Yunusa of the Federal High Court Kano, who has declared the votes polled by the Abia State governor-elect, Alex Otti, in the last general election as wasted, but stopped short of making an order withdrawing Mr Otti’s and other affected candidates’ certificates of return.

According to Justice Yunusa the failure of the Labour Party to submit its membership registers of Kano and Abia, to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) preparatory to the party’s primary election is the basis for his verdict.

He maintained that it is in breach of the provisions of Section 77(3) of the Electoral Act, 2022,

The judge, ruling on a suit by Ibrahim Ibrahim, said under Section 77(3) of the Electoral Act, Labour Party ought to submit its membership registers to INEC 30 days before its primary elections in Kano and Abia states.

The judge held that the void primary elections of the Labour Party, cannot produce eligible candidates to be sponsored by the party in the general election, and the participation of the candidates of the party, in the election in Kano State and Abia State, is wasted.

He also turned down the request of the plaintiff who asked the court to order INEC to declare the first runners-up in all the elections in Abia and Kano states as winners.

Justice Yunusa said since the candidates that came second in the election were not parties in the suit before him, the court, lacks the jurisdiction to make an order for the issuance of a certificate of return to them but was at liberty to seek redress in the appropriate division of the court.

However, the Labour Party Chairman in Abia State, Ceekay Igara, has countered the court judgement sacking the Abia State Governor-elect, Dr Alex Otti and other elected party candidates, noting that the said judgment is dead on arrival and cannot stand.

Igara stated this in a statement made available to the journalists in Umuahia on Friday afternoon, shortly after the court judgement.

The chairman charged all Labour Party candidates and the party faithful to remain calm and not panic, adding that the party lawyers were already on top of the matter. He also gave his assurance that the May 29 inauguration of the governor-elect would hold as scheduled.

In the same vein Alex Otti’s special adviser on media and publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma has clarified that his principal despite the court judgement had not been sacked. Ekeoma made the request while reacting to the media report at a news briefing in Umuahia. He described the judgment of the court as “baseless, unfounded and misleading”. He further described the process as a “legal coup”.

He said that “the perpetrators were not courageous enough to confront Otti in the open.

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“Otti was never joined as a party for fear that his eminently qualified lawyers would take the perpetrators to the cleaners,” he said.

Ekeoma further said that the court did not issue any Order on Abia LP candidates nor Otti “because it was conscious of its powers and careful not to fall into the booby trap set for it by the perpetrators”.

“The court specifically stated in Clause 9 of the judgment that the candidates that participated in the election in Abia are not parties before this court and as such the court lacks the jurisdiction to make an order for the issuance of Certificate of Return to them.

“The Federal High Court in Abia had entertained similar cases as pre-election matters involving some PDP candidates versus LP candidates, and the matters were adjudicated upon to the Supreme Court.

“In all the cases, LP won at the Federal High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

“The case brought by the petitioners is a pre-election matter and under Section 285(14)(a) of the Electoral Act, the petitioners have no locus standi as they were not aspirants in LP,” he said

He also argued that the Court in Kano lacked the jurisdiction over Abia, arguing that it was impossible for any decision emanating from it to have effect on Otti.

Ekeoma urged the people not to panic.

“Otti in the next few days will be sworn in as governor to enable him to commence the process of rebuilding the state.

The media had reported that the court, presided over by Justice M.N Yunusa, nullified the candidacy of all those that participated in the 2023 General Elections on LP’s platform in Abia and Kano.

The suit was filed by one Ibrahim Haruna against LP and the Independent National Electoral Commission.