A fresh litigation began yesterday against the assumption of office of Wada as governor of Kogi State, as a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja was asked to determine whether the directive by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, that Captain Idris Wada be sworn in as the governor of Kogi State, based on the election of December 3, 2011, was not unconstitutional, void and ultra vires.
A governorship aspirant of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Kogi State, Mr Oyebode Makinde, raised the legal question before the court in a suit he filed through his counsel, Dr Alex Izinyon, SAN.
The plaintiff wants the court to determine whether having regard to the provision of paragraph 15(a) – (i) of the 3rd Schedule to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), section 178(2), Section 191(2) of the same Constitution and section 31 of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) the 1st Defendant press statement of 30/1/12 that 3rd Defendant should be sworn in as the governor of Kogi State based on the election of 3/12/11 is not unconstitutional, void and ultra vires.
The court has also been asked to determine whether having regard to the provision of paragraph 15 (a – (i) of the 3rd Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and section 191(2) of the same constitution, the 1st Defendant’s press statement of 30/1/2011 that the 3rd Defendant be sworn in as the governor of Kogi State when the 4th Defendant is already discharging the function of Acting Governor pursuant to section 191(2) of the same constitution is not unconstitutional, illegal, null and void.
The plaintiff is, therefore, seeking a declaration that the 1st Defendant Order/directive that the 3rd Defendant be sworn in as governor of Kogi State is unconstitutional, null, void and ultra vires and that the 1st Defendant Order/directive that 3rd Defendant be sworn in as governor of Kogi State when the 4th Defendant is discharging same function pursuant to section 191(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is unconstitutional, null, void and ultra vires.
He further wants the court to declare that the 3rd Defendant cannot hold himself out/or parade himself as the governor of Kogi State and that the 1st Defendant is bound to conduct a fresh election into the gubernatorial seat for Kogi State based on fresh primary by the political parties.
The plaintiff, however, sought for an order of injunction restraining the 1st & 2nd Defendants, their agents or assigns from giving effect to the directive or order of 30/1/12 or doing anything in like manner and also an order of injunction restraining the 3rd Defendant from parading himself or holding himself out as the governor of Kogi State.
He further prayed the court for an order of mandatory injunction commanding the 4th Defendant to conduct a fresh election into the Kogi State gubernatorial seat based on fresh primary to be conducted.
The plaintiff had earlier asked the court to determine whether having regard to the provision of section 191(2), section 178(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) the 3rd Defendant can hold himself out or parade himself as governor of Kogi State at the same time when the 4th Defendant is discharging the duties as governor of Kogi State.
