A Federal High Court sitting in Kano State and presided over by Justice M N Yunusa has nullified the candidature of the Abia State Governor-elect, Dr Alex Otti.
Justice Yunusa on Friday also nullified the candidatures of all those who contested the 2023 general elections under the Labour Party (LP) in Abia and Kano States.
The court ruled that the emergence of the candidates was not in compliance with the provisions of the 2022 electoral act.
A copy of the judgement delivered by the court was made public on Friday morning.
The Court in Suit No FHC/KN/CS/107/2023 was filed by Mr Ibrahim Haruna Ibrahim against the LP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
It ruled that the failure of the Labour Party to submit its membership register to the INEC within 30 days before their primaries renders the process null and void.
“The party that has not complied with the provisions of the electoral act cannot be said to have candidates in an election and cannot be declared winner of an election.
“This being so, the votes credited to the 1st defendant is a wasted vote,” the Judge ruled.
Recall that the Abia Governor-elect, Otti, on April 14 constituted a 75-member inauguration committee to organise his inauguration on May 29.
The LP candidate was declared the winner of the March 18 Abia gubernatorial election of by the INEC after winning 10 of the 17 local government areas (LGAs) in the state and polled 175,467 votes.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Okey Ahiwe, polled a total of 88,529 votes while Enyinnaya Nwafor of the Young Peoples Party (YPP) came in third with 28,972 votes.
INEC’s state returning officer, Professor Nnenna Oti, declared Otti as the governor-elect, having polled the highest number of votes and having fulfilled the requirements to be named the governor-elect.
Source : The Guardian
Full Judgement
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED AS FOLLOWS:
1. That every registered Political Party is bound to comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022 in the conduct of it activities and any activity of the Political Party not done in compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022 is void ab initio.
2. That the 1st Defendant has carried on with its activities in the selection of its candidates for the General Election in a manner that is at variance with mandatory provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 which renders its participation in the General Elections of 2023 in Kano States and Abia States as null and void.
3. That the 2nd Defendant (Independent National Electoral Commission) was bound to insist on receiving the Register of Members of the 1st Defendant (Labour party) and that of other political parties registered in Nigeria in both hard and soft copies in Kano State and the rest of the 35 States of the Federation and the FCT at least 30 days before the 1st Defendant conduct its Primary Elections for its candidates that participated in the General Election of 25th of February, 2023 and 18th of March, 2023, respectively in Kano State and throughout the Federation in compliance with the provisions of section 77(3) of the Electoral Act, 2022.
4. That the failure of the 1st Defendant to submit its Register of members in Kano State and Abia State is in crass breach of the provisions of section 77(3) of the Electoral Act, 2022 and the purported Primary Elections of the 1st Defendant is invalid, null and void and of no effect.
5. That the fundamentally flawed Primary Elections of the Is Defendant (Labour party) as a result of failure to comply with the mandatory provisions of section 77(2) and (3) cannot produce a qualified candidate that participated in the General Elections as held on the 254 of February, 2023 and 18 of march, 2023 respectively for all the elective positions in Kano State and Abia State.
6. That the void Primary Elections of the 15 Defendant cannot produce eligible candidates to be sponsored by the 1st Defendant in the General Election and the participation of the candidates of the 1st Defendant in the Election in Kano State and Abia State is of no moment and waste of time.
7. That the votes cast for all the candidates of the 1st Defendant in Kano State and Abia State in the General Elections of 2023 are wasted votes.
8. A party that has not complied with the provisions of Section 77(2) (3) cannot be said to have candidates in an election and cannot be declared the winner of the election this being so, the votes credited to alleged candidates of the 1st Defendant are wasted votes as per the decision of the Supreme Court.
9. The candidates that participated in the Election in Abia State are not parties before this Court as such the Court lacks the jurisdiction to make an order for the issuance of Certificate of return to them. They are however, at liberty to seek the said redress in the appropriate Division of the Court.
ISSUED AT KANO UNDER THE SEAL OF THE COURT AND THE HAND OF THE PRESIDING JUDGE THIS 18TH DAY OF MAY, 2023.