Court Throws Out PDP’s Suit Seeking to Disqualify Tinubu, Obi over Alleged Unlawful Nomination

Chuks Okocha and Alex Enumah in Abuja

Justice Donatus Okorowo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, yesterday, dismissed a suit by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), seeking to disqualify candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and that of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, in the 2023 presidential election, over alleged unlawful substitution of their running mates.

Justice Okorowo dismissed the suit for being incompetent and lacking  merit on the grounds that the plaintiff lacked the necessary locus standi to institute the legal action.

Defendants in the suit with No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1016/2022 were the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), APC, Tinubu, Kabiru Masari, Obi and Doyin Okupe and 1st to 7th defendants respectively.

The judge further held that the suit was vexatious and a waste of the precious time of the court, adding that it was aimed at irritating opponents in the 2023 Presidential election.

According to the plaintiff, the Electoral Act 2022 did not make provision for a “place holder” or temporary running mate and that time for resignation, withdrawal or substitution of presidential candidates or conduct of fresh primaries to replace them was not applicable to Masari and Okupe.

He, therefore, prayed the court to disqualify Tinubu and Obi from participating in next year’s presidential poll.

But the court, in its judgment, disagreed with the plaintiff, noting that the suit filed on its behalf by Mr Gordy Uche, SAN, was incompetent and unjusticiable, because it did not disclose any reasonable cause of action.

Besides, the Judge said PDP failed woefully to disclose any injury it suffered in the substitution of running mates carried out by APC and Labour Party.

PDP also contended that Tinubu and  Obi could only qualify to contest the 2023 presidential election with Masari and Okupe, as their respective running mate.

The plaintiff further claimed that INEC lacked power to accept any withdrawal or substitution of Masari and Okupe without APC and Labour Party conducting fresh primaries to substitute Tinubu and Peter Obi.

PDP averred that Masari and Okupe were not products of any primary election and as such were not validly nominated by APC and Labour Party.

PDP also stated that INEC cannot validly make any other election time table for the change and substitution of Masari and Okupe as running mates to Tinubu and Obi, adding that they were tied to Masari and Okupe and could not be severed, altered or changed any day later than June 17, 2022.

The Judge held that the issue of nomination and substitution were internal affairs of political parties and that courts had no jurisdiction to dabble into them.

Meanwhile,  INEC will today September 20 published the final  particulars of candidates nominated by political parties for the 2023 general election.

So, far, the list published in June would be authenticated today as the final list in line with the new electoral act.

INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said the publication of the final list was in line with Section 32(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022 and the Timetable and Schedule of Activities released by the commission.”

He also said, “Campaign in public by political parties will officially commence on Sept. 28 as provided for by Section 94(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022.

In a related development, INEC, yesterday, defended why over seven million voter registration processes were voided by the commission.

The commission had reacted to media reports that over  seven million Nigerians, who applied for online pre-registration during the last nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) were denied the opportunity to complete their registration and consequently the collection of their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs).

INEC, in a statement by the national commissioner in charge of Information and chairman of Voter Education, Festus Okoye, described the allegation as misleading.

“To set the record straight, Nigerians may recall that on 28th June 2021, the Commission introduced the online pre-registration of voters. By doing so, citizens were given the opportunity to commence the registration online and then book for an appointment at their convenience to complete the physical Biometric Capture at designated centres.

“It was a novel idea leveraging technology to ease the registration process. This was in addition to the walk-in option at physical centres, where Nigerians can commence and complete their registration simultaneously without going through the online pre-registration procedure,” he explained.

Okoye said in the interest of transparency, the Commission provided weekly statistical updates on the exercise.

“For the online pre-registration, a total 10,487,972 commenced the process. However, by the deadline of the exercise, 3,444,378 Nigerians completed their pre-registration physically at the designated centres in line with the Commission’s policy. Some 7,043,594 applicants did not complete the registration. Again, the Commission made the information public.

“This is what some people are now using to say that they were denied the opportunity when in reality they failed to either complete the online enrolment or appear physically at the designated centres to complete the process,” the INEC national commissioner explained.