The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday told a Federal High Court, Abuja that six aggrieved applicants who challenged the party’s Feb. 7 election to nominate delegates for Kogi governorship primaries were not its members.
Counsel to APC, Abdulwahab Mohammed, SAN, who told Justice James Omotosho in a preliminary objection filed to counter the applicants’ suit, said their names were not in the register of members in the state, hence, they lacked locus standi to institute the case.
Mohammed said even if the applicants were members of APC, the issue of delegate election was an internal affairs of a party which the court had no jurisdiction to decide.
Besides, he argued that the case was instituted outside the 14 days of the cause of action as prescribed by law, adding that the matter was filed 30 days after the congress was held.
The senior lawyer urged the court to dismiss the suit.
Six applicants; Mr Realwan Okpanachi, Yahaya Nuhu, Akwu Umar, Mustapha Idoko and two others had sued the APC and INEC and 1st and 2nd defendants respectively.
In the originating summons marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/329/2023 dated and filed March 8 by their counsel, Chief Ogwu Onoja, SAN, the applicants prayed for an order setting aside the delegates’ list submitted by the party to INEC for nomination of its governorship candidate for the Nov. 11 governorship election in Kogi.
They also prayed for an order of mandatory injunction, directing the APC to hold and conduct special ward congresses scheduled for April 14 to elect ward delegates for the purpose of nominating its candidate for the governorship election.
The plaintiffs asked the court to declare that it is mandatory for the party to hold the ward congresses for the purpose of electing delegates that would nominate its candidate for the governorship election in the state.
They also sought a declaration that in the absence of the special ward congresses, the purported list of delegates submitted by APC to INEC dated Feb. 7, or any other date, was invalid, null and void and liable to be set aside.
They said this was in line with the provisions of Section 5(b) (i) of the Electoral Act, 2022, Article 13.13(iii) of APC Constitution, 2022 (as amended) and the guidelines formulated by the National Executive Council (NEC) of the party for the conduct of election of delegates for the nomination of candidate for Kogi governorship poll.
But responding Mohammed urged the court to discountenance the applicants’ prayers.
He said that by number of documents submitted to the court as exhibits, the party conducted the delegate election in compliance with the provisions of the law and party’s guidelines.
The lawyer said the documents include the timetable and schedule for the conduct of the election of the delegates, a notice by APC’s NEC to INEC in respect of the election slated for Feb 7, the constitution of appeal committee members by the party and the result sheet annexed to the originating summons of the applicants.
He argued that all these documents pointed to the fact that election was held in Kogi state on Feb 7 and the electoral umpire was duly informed for the monitoring.
Upon resumed hearing in the matter on Tuesday, Moses Ebute, SAN, who appeared for the applicants, Mohammed who represented the APC and lawyer to the INEC, Chief Anthony Adeniyi, SAN, adopted their processes.
Justice Omotosho reserved the judgment till April 6.
