A Federal High Court has denied nullifying the candidature of the Abia governor-elect, Dr Alex Otti, who contested the election on the platform of the Labour Party.
The court, however, said it nullified the election of the Kano LP candidates that contested the 2023 general elections.
Ibrahim Haruna-Ibrahim had filed an application asking the court to revoke and set aside the certificate of return issued to all LP candidates declared winners in Kano and the 35 states of the federation, including the FCT.
Following the mixed reactions that trailed the judgement, Justice Nasir-Yunusa affirmed that the candidates in Abia who took part in the just-concluded general elections were not parties in the suit.
Nasir-Yunusa said the court declared only the primary election of the Labour Party in Kano State null and void.
“This court lacks jurisdiction to make an order for the issuance of certificate of return.
“They are at liberty to seek redress in the appropriate division of the court,” he said.
It was earlier reported that the Federal High Court in Kano had declared the votes polled by Alex Otti as wasted, but refused to nullify the certificate of return issued to him as the winner of the poll.
Yunusa cited the failure of the Labour Party to submit its membership registers to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) preparatory to the party’s primary election as the basis for his verdict.
“That the failure of the 1st defendant to submit its register of members in Kano State and Abia State is in crass breach of the provisions of section 77(3) of the Electoral Act, 2022, and the purported Primary Elections of the 1st defendant is invalid, null and void and of no effect,” Mr Yunusa ruled, according to the summary of the court judgement seen by PREMIUM TIMES yesterday.
The judge, ruling on a suit by one Ibrahim Haruna 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.
But the court judgement stopped short of making an order withdrawing Mr Otti’s and other affected candidates’ certificates of return.
The plaintiff prayed for the order in its prayer nine, but the judge did not grant the request.
The judge also turned down the request contained in prayer 10 for the court to order the INEC to declare as the winner the first runners-up in all the elections in Abia and Kano states which Labour Party candidates were declared returned as elected.
Labour Party Rejects Judgement
The Labour Party (LP) has rejected the purported court judgement sacking its elected members including the governor-elect in Abia State, Alex Otti.
A statement issued by the acting national publicity secretary of the party, Obiorah Ifoh, the party said it was horrified with the judgement entered against them.
“The party is even more concerned with the haste with which Justice M. N. Yunusa of Kano High Court discharged its duties as the appearance and judgement in the matter brought before it by suspended members of the party loyal to the former deputy national chairman, Lamidi Apapa lasted only 48 hours.
“The Court in Suit No FHC/KN/CS/107/2023 filed by Mr Ibrahim Haruna Ibrahim against the Labour Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission ruled that the failure of the Labour Party to submit its membership register to INEC within 30 days before their primaries rendered the process invalid.
“It also ruled that the party having not complied with the provisions of the electoral act cannot be said to have a candidate in an election and cannot be declared winner of an election.
“The Labour party which is mentioned as a respondent was not aware of any suit against in Kano State as the party was not served with any summons.
“The former National Legal Adviser Samuel Akingbade Oyelekan has since ceased being an officer of the party and his appearance for the party is not with any authorization from the leadership of the party’s National Working Committee.
“You will recall that on Wednesday, we raised an alarm that suspended National Legal Adviser Samuel Akingbade Oyelekan, while the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal was sitting in Abuja with all attentions focused on it, clandestinely sneaked out of Abuja to Kano state where he in collaboration with some members of the other political parties asked the court to invalidate all the elections won by the Labour Party, particularly, the national assembly in the 36 states and FCT on the ground that the party didn’t submit register of voters to INEC.
“Akingbade who presented himself as representing the Labour Party, did not oppose the motion, thus forcing the helpless judge to reserve judgement for thursday. On hearing the evil agenda of Apapa’s plot, the party directed one of its counsels to appear on its behalf, an attempted that was rejected by the judge, who went ahead to give judgement against the party,” the statement said.
According to the statement, the judgement is not only inconsequential but also laughable and holds no water.
“The court lacks the jurisdiction to entertain an election matter at a time when elections have since been concluded and winners emerged. The Kano Court is also not a tribunal which has the constitutional powers to entertain pre-election matters.
“The two respondents in the matter are Labour Party and INEC. No individual is mentioned in the matter and no court can grant any relief that is not sought for. So we lose no sleep on the black market judgement as we will soon direct our lawyers to approach the Appeal Court to vacate the ill conceived judgement.
“Labour party has repeatedly raised the alarm of the plots by the opposition parties to ensure that the Labour Party is engulfed in crisis. Few weeks ago, we alerted Nigerians of plots to hijack the party and by extension, target all our cases in the tribunal. We have since produced evidences of the letters initiated by Akingbade to various tribunals asking for withdrawal of cases before them.
“For the upteempth time, Samuel Akingbade, Lamidi Apapa, Abayomi Arabambi and everyone in that camp have ceased to be representing the Labour Party in whatever capacity and statement serves as a disclaimer on them and for the information of Nigerians.
“Today at the At the FCT state High Court before Justice Hamza Muazu in a matter between Apapa’s group and Abure, the Judge among other things reprimanded Apapa camp for attempting to take over the leadership of the Labour party and constituting themselves into a nuisance,” the statement added.
Otti Will Be Sworn In – Aide
Meanwhile, the special adviser, media and publicity to Abia State governor-elect, Ferdinand Ekeoma, has assured that the governor-elect would be sworn in despite the nullification of Otti’s Labour Party candidature for the governorship election by a Kano Federal High Court.
“Dr. Alex Otti will be sworn in as governor to enable him commence the process of rebuilding and recovering our state that was destroyed and plundered by the PDP.
“Abians are enjoined to ignore the fake report claiming that he had been sacked by a High Court in Kano.
“The report being sponsored and widely circulated by the PDP and the state government alleging that Otti had been sacked is baseless, unfounded and misleading, and thus should be ignored,” he said.
According to him, the court did not issue any order on the party or Otti because it was conscious of its powers and careful not to fall into the booby trap set for it by the PDP and the state government.
“Like earlier stated, the court does not have jurisdiction over the state, therefore it is impossible for any decision emanating from the court to have effect on Otti who was not a party to the suit.
“It, therefore, exposes PDP’s gullibility to have expected the court to make an order against Otti, an action that would have incurred the wrath of the judicial commission.”
