…As Court dismisses suit stopping primary
A total of 3,596 delegates were accredited in the primary which held in Lokoja, the state capital.
The governor secured 3, 127 votes.
Court dismisses suit stopping primaries
Ruling in the application filed
by a Governorship aspirant, Alhaji Mustapha Audu, Justice Awulu, held that the
court cannot stop the primaries by order.
Audu filed an experte application
before the vacation Judge “pursuant to section 6(6)a and (b) of the 1999
constitution and Order 11 rule 7, sub 1 & 2 of the Kogi (Civil Procedure)5
Rules 2006.”
He sought among others, an
interim order restraining the defendants from conducting the party’s
governorship primary election scheduled to hold on Aug. 29, pending the
determination of motion on notice before the court.
The aspirant who is also the son
of the former governor of the state, late Abubakar Audu, also sought an interim
order to restrain the defendants from organising any activity connected with
the conduct of the primary election and any other order that the court may deem
necessary to make in the circumstance.
Defendants in the suit are Adams
Oshiomhole, the National Chairman of the APC; Chairman of the APC Governorship
Primary Election; Chairman of the APC Governorship Primary Election Appeal
Committee and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In the originating summons of the
suit No HCL/34/2019 and dated Aug. 28, the applicant argued that the exclusion
of his name from the governorship aspirants’ list of the APC was a breach of
his right and that the conduct of the screening exercise by the party was in
breach of the party’s constitution.
He therefore urged the court to
direct that he be included as one of the aspirants, contesting the primary
election and an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from
conducting the primary without including his name.
He said he would suffer
irreparable loss if the defendants were not restrained from conducting the primary
election.
The motion was supported by a
fifteen-paragraph affidavit deposed to by the applicant himself with another
seven-paragraph affidavit of urgency.
His counsel, D.D. Dugbanya., said
he would rely on the affidavits and adopted the written address filed along
with the motion.
Justice Awulu, after listening to
Dugbanya, declined the application to stop the conduct of the governorship
primary election.
“I have perused the application
vis-à-vis the affidavits in support and of urgency along with the written
address of counsel.
“I have refrained from raising
the issue of jurisdiction suo moto at this stage to prevent an entry into the
arena. Let me save that until the motion on notice.
“However, the issue to resolve is
whether a court can restrain by an order of injunction the holding of a primary
election by a political party.
“This is my view and I so hold
that the holding or conducting primary election by a political party cannot be
stopped by an order of injunction,” Awulu said his ruling.
He supported his position with a
decision of the Court of Appeal where it was held that, “Courts have no power
to grant orders of injunction restraining the conduct of party primaries.”