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Primaries: PDP Asks Court to Strike Out Suit for Want of Jurisdiction
The Peoples Democratic Party on Friday challenged the jurisdiction of a Federal High Court in Abuja to summon it over its forthcoming presidential primary election.
The PDP in a Notice of Preliminary Objection filed by its lawyer, Mahmud Magaji (SAN), said the subject matter of the case, which bordered on whether to zone its presidential ticket to any part of the country, was not an issue for the court to decide because it is an internal affair.
Justice Donatus Okorowo of a Federal High Court in Abuja, had last Thursday, ordered the PDP to appear before it on May 5, to explain why the request of one of its presidential aspirants to stop the scheduled primary election for the selection of the party’s candidate in the 2023 presidential election should not be granted.
A presidential aspirant of the party and former Deputy Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, Cosmas Ndukwe, had brought an application for an order of injunction restraining the PDP from proceeding with its scheduled primary, pending the hearing and determination of his suit challenging the position of the PDP on the issue of zoning the party’s presidential ticket.
The PDP, its national chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, Senator Samuel Anyanwu and the Independent National Electoral Commission were listed as respondents in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/508/2022.
Rather than grant the request, the judge ordered that the PDP appear before it and show cause why the court should not accede to the plaintiff’s demand.
But in a swift response, the PDP on Friday asked the court to strike out the suit for want of jurisdiction and also dismiss it for being statute-barred.
The defendants said, “The cause of action in the suit relates to the internal affairs of a political party and therefore, falls within the doctrine of political questions which are non-justiciable,” adding that as such, the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain it.
On the issue of statute-barred, the PDP averred that the cause of action arose from the PDP National Zoning Committee communique of April 5 whereas the plaintiff’s suit was filed on April 19 (15 days after) in violation of Section 285 of the Constitution which provides for 14 days to file such cases.
While arguing that the plaintiff lacked the necessary legal right to initiate the case, the PDP submitted that no civil right of the plaintiff had been wrong pursuant to Section 6 (6) of the Constitution.
The party, therefore, asked the court to uphold its objection and dismiss the case of the plaintiff, adding that the plaintiff would not be prejudiced or suffer any hardship if the case was dismissed.
The Punch
Adebayo Adelabu, one of the aspirants for the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket in Oyo State, has alleged irregularities in the party’s governorship primary election held on Thursday.
Adelabu, who expressed dissatisfaction over the conduct of the exercise, stated that the primary was characterized by misconduct ranging from disenfranchisement of his supporters in some wards and the commencement of election process earlier than scheduled.
Speaking after the conclusion of the primary election at IMG School, Ward 9, Ibadan South-East Local Government Area, the immediate past Minister of Power alleged that the process was neither free, fair nor credible.
He said: “Before our people started getting to their various wards, they have already conducted the election and they wrote the figures they want as results.
“In some wards, our people were prevented from voting. They were intimidated. They were chased away violently. And in some wards, voting did not take place at all.
“All this kind of misconduct is not good at this stage of our democracy in Nigeria, and something has to be done about it.”
Adelabu, therefore, vowed to come up with serious petitions against all the irregularities not just in Ibadan, but across all the five geopolitical zones in Oyo State.
“Also, conduct of many party executives is uncalled for, a lot of people bought forms and they were cleared. And they decided to conduct affirmation of a particular candidate in some wards.
“There was nothing like consensus arrangement. It was just a figment of their weird imagination. The instruction we got from Abuja was that we should all carry out free, fair, and transparent direct primary election where every aspirant will be given a level playing ground and the election will be conducted peacefully.
“Where did they get the idea of consensus candidates? And this is what happened in a lot of the wards. And it didn’t go down well with us. “We don’t want that. We are going to assess the gravity of this gross misconduct and the potential impact on the overall result of this election.
“I will put a petition forward to the appropriate authorities so that it can be deeply investigated and there must be consequences to this. The people who perpetrated this misconduct must be identified and punished. And the aspirants involved also need to be suspended because this is not good for us.
“Democracy is the government of the people by the people and for the people where nobody should be disenfranchised. Once you are a party member, you should have that freedom, that authority to pick an aspirant of your choice as the flag bearer of the party.
“This is Ibadan, this is Oyo State and this the centre of politics in the southwest. And we should be able to lay good examples and the process should produce a candidate that won transparently, freely and fairly,” he said.
Meanwhile, at Ward 9, Ibadan South-East Local Government, Adelabu, polled 430 to defeat his closest rival, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, who had 3 votes.
Al Nassr captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, has finally won the Saudi Pro League title.
They were confirmed champions on Thursday, thanks to a 4-2 drubbing of relegation battlers, Damac.
The title race had gone down to the final day after Al-Nassr dramatically dropped points against Al-Hilal the previous week.
Jorge Jesus’ side knew there could be no mistakes against a Damac side fighting for survival at the other end of the table.
Ronaldo was on the scoresheet, as his brace helped Al Nassr secure the title ahead of rivals Al Hilal.
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has announced his withdrawal from the All Progressives Congress governorship primary election in the state.
Fubara made this known in a statement personally signed on Wednesday, saying he would support whoever emerges as the party’s candidate, The Nations reported.
The governor said his decision followed extensive consultations with his family, friends, and political associates.
“After deep reflection and extensive consultations with my family, friends, and associates, I have taken the difficult but necessary decision to withdraw from the APC governorship primaries. I do so with a full heart and with a firm commitment to support whoever emerges as the candidate of our great party,” Fubara said.
Fubara said although the decision was difficult, he remained committed to supporting whoever would emerge as the APC governorship candidate.
According to him, leadership demands sacrifice and personal ambition must sometimes give way to the collective interest of the people.
Meanwhile, the embattled governor expressed appreciation to his supporters for their loyalty, prayers and sacrifices throughout the political process, acknowledging that many would feel disappointed by his withdrawal.
He said his silence in recent weeks was “deliberate and strategic,” adding that it was guided by the higher interest of the state.
Tone Cole, APC chieftain and 2027 governorship aspirant in Rivers State, also announced his withdrawal from the race, saying his decision was, among other reasons, in the interest of the party’s unity.
