An attempt by the Peoples Democratic Party PDP to force the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress APC,Bola Tinubu and his running mate,Kashim Shettima out of the February 25,2023 election suffered a huge defeat as a Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, dismissed the party’s suit seeking their disqualification.
Presiding Judge,Justice Inyang Ekwo, described the suit as an abuse of court process having been established that the PDP had no locus standi on the matter.
The PDP, in its originating summons marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1734/2022, had sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), APC, Tinubu and Shettima as 1st to 4th defendants respectively.
The party In the suit filed on July 28, 2022, challenged the validity of Sen. Tinubu to contest for the 2023 presidential election as APC candidate on the ground that Mr Shettima’s nomination as his running mate was in breach of the provisions of Sections 29(1), 33, 35 and 84{1)}(2)} of the Electoral Act, 2022 (as amended).
The party argued that Shettima’s nomination to contest the position of vice president and Borno Central Senatorial seat contravened the law.
It prayed the court to disqualify the APC, Tinubu and Shettima from contesting the presidential election scheduled for Feb. 25, and further sought an order compelling INEC to remove their names from its list of nominated or sponsored candidates eligible to contest the poll.
But the defendants, in their preliminary objection filed by their counsel, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and Thomas Ojo, urged the court to dismiss the suit for want of jurisdiction.
They argued that the plaintiff (PDP) lacked the locus standi (legal right) to file the case, which invariably was challenging the political party’s decision and its nomination of candidates for the polls.
The duo argued that such act was an internal affair of APC and was non – justiciable
Delivering the judgment, Justice Ekwo held that the matter was an internal affair of the APC and that the PDP had no l right of action on the matter adding where there is no locus, the court has no jurisdiction.
“It is express in the provision of Section 29 (5) of the Electoral Act, 2022 that the right of action on the matter for which the applicant/respondent (PDP) has filed this action is given to ‘any aspirant who participated in the primaries of his political party’,”
Ekwo said that it had been established that the PDP was not an aspirant of the APC.
“Therefore, there is no iota of law which support this action. It is on this ground that I find that this case is an abuse of process and I so hold,” he said.
Thereafter, the judge dismissed the suit for constituting an abuse of court process.
