Friday, April 8, 2011
Court supports the nomination of candidates Gbenga Daniel
A Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, yesterday ruled that candidates of Nigeria People's Party (NPP) in Ogun State are qualified to participate in the forthcoming general elections. The state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had filed a complaint against the NDP on the emergence of candidates.
Dayo Soremi, party chairman and two others on behalf of the DPP candidate for the general election of 2011 had, on March 22, approached the Federal High Court, Abuja seeking an order to stop the NPP candidate Governor, Gboyega Isiaka Nasir to contest the election for governor. The case has yet been transferred by the judge at a Federal High Court in Abeokuta, under the argument that a circular dated March 16 ordered that all cases pre-election be filed in the state where Primary and appointments were made.
The PDP, in the trial, argued that the respondents were members of the PDP before he defected to the NPP and were already on the party list as candidates for the election before decamping. In this perspective, the party has requested a court order to prevent the INEC released the names of Mr. Isiaka and eight others as candidates for the election.
Not your business, but the court in its ruling yesterday, said that the DPP has no locus standi to bring up a case seeking to disqualify the candidate of another party and therefore dismissed the complaint in its entirety. The presiding judge, Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, also ruled on a motion by finding a limit to the NPP National Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) of the forgery, alteration or deletion in any way the list Appointment of NPP as presented to the Commission by the party.
Mrs. Ofili-Ajumogobia confirmed the arguments of the NPP, saying that the DPP and its members have no locus standi to bring the action and dismissed the case. She also caught the INEC any alteration, amendment or withdrawal of the nomination list submitted to the Commission by the PCO.
