An Abuja High Court sitting in Maitama, on Friday, slated Monday to determine who the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, should regard as the authentic flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the forthcoming governorship election in Kogi state.
Presiding Justice Sunday E. Aladetoyinbo reserved judgment on the matter after listening to legal arguments from two governorship aspirants of the PDP in the state, Jibrin Isah Echocho and Idris Wada, who both claimed that they emerged through a validly conducted primary election of the party.
Whereas the plaintiff before the high court, Isah, emerged from a primary election which was ab-initio held by the party in January, the 2nd defendant, Wada, on the other hand, won fresh primary election that was conducted by the party on September 22, following the court judgment that barred INEC from including Kogi state in the April 26 governorship election in the country.
It would be recalled that Kogi was among the five states excluded from the governorship poll by two separate judgments that were delivered by the Abuja Divisions of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.
In view of a new timetable that was issued by INEC, which scheduled governorship election in the state for December 3, the PDP re-conducted its primary election, which saw the 2nd defendant, Wada, clinching the ticket.
Meantime, the plaintiff, Isah, whose name was previously submitted to INEC by the PDP, took the case to court, contending that under section 33 of the Electoral Act, he still remained the authentic candidate of the party.
He urged the trial court to among other things, determine “whether having regard to the combined effect of sections 26 (1), 26(2), 87(1), 87(2), 87(3) and 87(4) (b) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) the valid and due nomination of the Plaintiff and submission of his name by the 1st Defendant (PDP) to the INEC, as the 1st Defendant’s Governorship Candidate in the Kogi State 2011 Governorship Election, can be vitiated by the postponement of the election from April 26, 2011 to December 3, 2011.
Besides, he sought “a declaration that the Plaintiff remains the authentic and validly nominated governorship candidate of the 1st Defendant, and the Plaintiff’s name having earlier been submitted by the 1st Defendant and accepted/published by the Independent National Electoral Commission as the governorship candidate of the 1st Defendant, cannot be substituted with any other name except as provided in section 33 of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.
And “An order nullifying the purported Special State Congress primary election conducted by the 1st Defendant on the 22nd of September, 2011, wherein another person was purportedly selected to replace the Plaintiff as 1st Defendant’s candidate for the 3rd of December, 2011, Kogi State governorship election.”
