There is tension in Enugu State as the people await judgement on who would fly Peoples Democratic Party’s flag for the April 11 governorship election in the state. Senate Ayogu Eze filed the case challenging the recognition of Ifeanyi Ugwanyi as the candidate of the ruling party.
The case came up before Justice Evoh Chukwu of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday for the determination but Justice Chukwu deferred the judgement till Tuesday, February 24.
However, on Friday, Justice Chukwu again deferred the matter till today. He did not adduce any reason the verdict which was scheduled for delivery could not hold.
Eze had filed the suit before the court, saying he was the rightful candidate, while Mr. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi who is currently enjoying the support of the national leadership of the party had applied to be joined as an interested party in the matter.
In another suit, the court will also tomorrow, commence hearing on the suit brought before it by Chief. Samuel Maduka Onyishi, owner of Peace Mass Transit seeking an outright cancellation of the December 8 primaries of the PDP in Enugu.
Onyishi is seeking outright cancellation for being in breach of Section 87(4) (b) (I) of the Electoral Act, 2010. However, as a result of the development, top officials of Enugu State government have literally relocated to Abuja in anticipation of the court judgement. Senator Eze lodged the suit challenging Ugwuanyi as the authentic candidate but the latter subsequently applied and was joined as an interested party in the matter.
The duo are laying claims to the governorship ticket of the PDP in Enugu State, having emerged from two parallel primary elections that held in the state. Both the plaintiff who argued through his lawyer Mr. Yusuf Ali, SAN, and Ugwuanyi who was represented by his lawyer, Mr. Patrick Ikwueto, SAN, insisted before the court that the primary elections that produced them were duly monitored by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
Joined as defendants in the suit were the PDP, its National Chairman, Mr. Adamu Mu’azu, and INEC. Justice Chukwu adjourned the case for judgment after all the parties in the matter exchanged and adopted their written arguments.
Eze had in his suit, number FHC/ABJ/CS/2014, prayed the court to restrain ‘’the PDP, the National Working Committee, NWC, and INEC, by themselves, agents, officers, officials, privies or representatives and other person whatsoever, deriving authority from them from submitting, forwarding or sending the names of any other person other than himself, as their duly elected governorship candidate for 2015 governorship election in Enugu State, pending the final determination of the substantive case.”
He also asked for an order restraining INEC, its agents, privies, or representatives from recognising, accepting or giving effect to the name of any other person other than himself as the governorship candidate of the PDP and the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party for Enugu State governorship election in 2015.
He told the court that PDP had conducted ward congresses in Enugu State on November 1, 2014, as a result of which a list of delegates for the conduct of primary election for the governorship candidate of the party emerged consisting of names of the elected delegates. According to him, the list was sanctioned and authenticated by the Federal High Court, Abuja, in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/816/2014, which judgement was delivered on November 24, 2014.
Eze contended that he emerged as the governorship candidate of the party based on the correct delegates list sanctioned by the same court, adding, however, that the defendants were bent on sending another person other than his name to INEC as their chosen governorship candidate for the said 2015 election.
“If the defendants were not restrained from doing so, pending the determination of this case, the judgement of the court will be rendered nugatory,” he pleaded.
He further urged the court to, among other things, determine “whether having regard to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended, Sections 85 to 87 of the Electoral Act 2011 as amended, the electoral guidelines for primary elections 2014, the defendants could jettison, set aside, refuse to use or in any other manner ignore the result of the ward congresses held on November 1, 2014, where ad-hoc delegates from the 260 wards of Enugu State were elected in the conduct of the primary elections to elect the governorship candidate of the PDP for the general elections in 2015.3
Meanwhile, arguing through its lawyer, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, PDP and its chairman challenged the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit which they said was within the purview of a domestic affair of a political party. The 1st and 2nd defendant told the court that the plaintiff emerged through a kangaroo primary election which they said was not certified by the National Working Committee, NWC, of the party.
“The court only upheld the list of those that emerged from the November 1 delegates election, it did not make an order that the list must be used,” PDP argued.
Source: VANGUARD
