S’Court dismisses ex-Minister’s appeal seeking Tinubu’s disqualification

BY ANDREW OROLUA

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed an appeal filed by a former Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba seeking the disqualification of Bola Ahmed Tinubu and participation in February 25 general election as presidential candidate of All Progressive Congress, APC.

A panel of justices of the Apex Court unanimously dismissed the appeal stating that the plaintiff filed the suit outside the 14 days period allowed by the statute.

The justices told the appellant lawyer that the suit was statute bar and that he ought have abide by concurrent decisions of the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal which had dismissed the suit for lack of jurisdiction.

According to the presiding justice, John Inyang Okoro the APC National Congress was held on June 6 and 7, 2022 in which the appellant participated as an aspirant and by the event he knew as at June 7, 2022 that Ahmed Bola Tinubu emerged the presidential candidate.

That primary election was day the appellant cause of action arose ,but he waited till July 8, 2022 before filing his suit to challenge the nomination.

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“The cause of action had arose before the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC published the names of candidates,” the panel said.

The panel also disagreed with the appellant counsel James Kalu that interpretation Act apply to election cases and advised the counsel to withdraw the appeal.

He reluctantly applied to withdraw the appeal and the respondents did not oppose the application.

Consequently, the presiding Justice, John Inyang Okoro dismissed the appeal and other justices on the panel agreed with the ruling.

Nwajiuba had commenced the legal action before the Federal High Court Abuja precisely a month and one days after the APC primary election that produced Tinubu as it’s presidential candidate.

Specifically, Nwajiuba and the Rights for All International (RAI), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), had asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to void the processes that produced Tinubu as candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He alleged that Tinubu bought the votes of delegates to become flag bearers of the APC . But the Federal High Court held that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the suit on the grounds that it was statute bar.