THE Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, will this morning deliver judgment in the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its standard-bearer in the April governorship election,
Alhaji Mohammed Goni, challenging the judgment of the Borno State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, which upheld the election of Governor Kashim Shettima of the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP).
A five-man panel of justices of the appellate court headed by Justice Mohammed Ladan Tsamiya adjourned the case till today for judgment, after listening to the submissions of the counsel in the matter on Thursday.
At the commencement of hearing, counsel for the respondents, comprising Yusuf Ali SAN, Alex Izinyon SAN and Chukwuma Ekomaro SAN, adopted their preliminary objections to the appeal, and urged the court to dismiss it on the grounds that it lacked merit and was also incompetent.
Ali had told the court to strike out the appeal and dismiss it on two main grounds, “the incompetence of the appeal and the hypothetical nature of the appeal itself.”
He argued that hearing the PDP appeal “would serve no purpose now” as the constitutionally stipulated 180 days period provided for the conclusion of election petitions had already elapsed.
On his part, counsel for the appellants, Tayo Oyetibo SAN, urged the court to overrule all the objections to the appeal on the grounds that they lacked merit.
He prayed the court to allow the appeal and hear the petition on its merit.
However, Ali had submitted that no statute or rules of the court could override the provisions of the constitution, stressing that the court could not extend the constitutionally stipulated time for hearing of election matters.
He drew the court’s attention to the fact that the 180 days provided by the constitution for hearing the matter had already elapsed.
It will be recalled that the Borno State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal which sat in Abuja, had on November 12 dismissed the petition filed by the PDP and Goni, challenging Shettima’s election as governor of the state.
In a unanimous judgment, the tribunal, headed by Justice Sani Adamu, said the petition was abandoned by the petitioner since August 2011, when he failed to file the requisite application within the stipulated period for the pre-hearing notice.
In his judgment, Adamu held that, “a situation where the petitioner failed to bring an application for the issuance of a pre-hearing notice form amounts to an abandoned case.”
Adamu recalled that the petitioner’s ex parte motion filed on August 11, 2011, for the pre-hearing notice had earlier been dismissed by the tribunal on the grounds that it lacked competence as it was initiated without due process.
The tribunal agreed with the petitioners that they had the right to ask for an extension of time to file the application but said the request must be filed within the time frame.
It said such a request could only be granted according to the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), which only allowed such an application under extreme circumstances.
Adamu further ruled that under the Electoral Act 2010, the tribunal had no discretionary power to exercise in respect of Paragraph 41 (1) of the First Schedule, which states that no application for extension of time shall be taken.
“It is our humble opinion that this tribunal is not empowered to use discretion in this circumstance,” Adamu said.
Meanwhile, the Appeal Court Tribunal sitting in Enugu, on Thursday, nullified the election of Chief Andy Uba as senator representing Anambra South district in the April National Assembly elections held in Anambra State.
The tribunal, led by Justice Helen Moronkeji Ogunwumiju, also nullified the election of Mrs Uche Ekwunife, representing Njikoka/Aniocha, Dunukofia federal constituency.
The tribunal, in its ruling, awarded victory to Ekwunife’s rival in the election and candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr Dozie Nwankwo.
In the appeal filled by Chuma Nzeribe, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the tribunal ordered that a fresh election be conducted within 90 days in Anambra South constituency.
The court agreed with the petitioner, Nzeribe, that the election was marred by gross irregularities and massive rigging in some areas.
Nzeribe had gone to the Enugu Court of Appeal after losing at the Anambra Election Petitions Tribunal.
The lower tribunal had ruled that the petition against Uba was lacking in merit, a development that forced Nzeribe to approach the Enugu Court of Appeal.
Nzeribe had also prayed the court to nullify the election on the grounds that it was not properly conducted.
Taken from:
Borno governorship tussle: Goni, Shettima know fate today