The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, has summoned the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to appear before it on Thursday over December 8, 2014 governorship primary in Enugu State.
The court presided by Justice Evoh Chukwu, in a ruling, asked both the PDP and the INEC to appear before it to show cause why the outcome of the said primary election should not be voided.
The court order Followed an ex-parte application that was brought before it by a chieftain of the PDP in Enugu State and owner of Peace Mass Transit Limited, Dr. Samuel Maduka Onyishi.
Dr. Onyishi had through his lawyer Chief Chris Uche, SAN, prayed the court to declare that the primary election conducted by the PDP in Enugu state was in clear violation of the Electoral Act, saying it was in contempt of a subsisting suit challenging the election of delegates for that primary election.
He wants the court to nullify the primary election for being in breach of sections 87(4)(b)(I) of the Electoral Act and for non compliance with the electoral guidelines for primary elections 2014 of the PDP and and its constitution.
It will be recalled that prior to the primary election, Justice Chukwu had in another suit that was instituted by Barrister Orji Chinenye Godwin and two others against the PDP and 4 others, with reference number FHC/Abj/CS/830/2014, approved and sanctioned a list of delegates for the said primary election.
The list sanctioned by the court consisted of all the delegates duly elected at the party’s ward congress held for Enugu state.
However, Dr. Onyishi alleged that the Enugu state Electoral Panel, in breach of the court’s decision, discarded that list of duly elected delegates approved by the court, and brought out a totally different list of delegates which they claimed was handed over to them by the leadership of the party.
The plaintiff further told the court that no valid gubernatorial primary election of the PDP took place in Enugu State on December 8, as no votes or results could have been recorded from the flawed delegates list.
He told the court that upon realizing the illegality of using a different list from the one sanctioned by the court, that some delegates conducted different primaries leading to a situation where the state now parades three persons laying claim to being winners of the gubernatorial primary election of the PDP in the state.
The plaintiff therefore prayed the court to among other things, determine whether having regard to the subsisting judgment of this honourable court in Suit No: FHC,/ABJ/CS/830/2014- Barrister Orji Chinenye Godwin & 2 Ors. (suing for themselves and on behalf of all the delegates elected on the 1st day of November 2014 at the Ward Congress held for Enugu State) v. Peoples Democratic Party & 4 Ors, the PDP can lawfully and validly conduct her gubernatorial primary election 2014 on the 8th day of December 2015 for the forthcoming 2015 Enugu State Governorship election using a doctored list of delegated at variance with the list of delegates already sanctioned, endorsed and validated in the said Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/830/2014 by this honourable court.
“Whether the said gubernatorial primary election 2014 conducted by the party on the 8th day of December 2014 in Enugu State for the forthcoming 2015 Enugu State Governorship election in breach of sections 87(4) (b) (ii) and 87(9) of the Electoral Act 2010 ( as amended) and non- compliance with the Electoral Guidelines for Primary Elections 2014 of the 1st defendant, is valid.
“Whether the PDP can lawfully declare any person as the winner of the said primary election based on the results of the Gubernatorial Primary Election 2014 purportedly conducted by the party in Enugu State on the 8th day of December 2014 using a doctored list of delegates at variance with that sanctioned in the said above-said suit by this honourable court, in breach of sections 87(4)(b) (ii) and 87(9) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and non-compliance with the Electoral Guidelines of the 1st defendant.
“Whether the party can lawfully forward the name of any person/aspirant as having scores the highest number of votes cast or the winner of said gubernatorial primary election 2014 conducted by the 1st defendant on the 8th day of December 2014 in total disregard and contempt of the subsisting order of this honourable court in Suit No: FHC,/ABJ/CS/830/2014- Barrister Orji Chinenye Godwin & 2 Ors. (suing for themselves and on behalf of all the delegates elected on the 1st day of November 2014 at the Ward Congress held for Enugu State) v. Peoples Democratic Party & 4 Ors.
“Whether the INEC can lawfully accept the name of any person forwarded unit by the PDP as the winner of the said gubernatorial primary election 2014 conducted by the 1st defendant on the 8th day of December 2014 and/or the candidate of the 1st defendant for the forthcoming Enugu State Governorship elections in contempt of the subsisting order of this court in Suit No: FHC,/ABJ/CS/830/2014- Barrister Orji Chinenye Godwin & 2 Ors. (suing for themselves and on behalf of all the delegates elected on the 1st day of November 2014 at the Ward Congress held for Enugu State) v. Peoples Democratic Party & 4 Ors, in the light of the provisions of section 87(4) (b) (ii) and 87(9) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended)”.
Justice Chukwu ordered the two defendants in the matter, PDP and INEC to within 24 hours show cause why the reliefs sought by the plaintiff should not be granted.
Onyeshi specifically prayed the court to not only direct PDP to conduct a fresh gubernatorial primary election in Enugu State, but to also issue an injunction restraining INEC from accepting/acting upon any name whatsoever forwarded to it by PDP as the winner of the said election purportedly held on December 8 or as the candidate of the party for the forthcoming governorship election in the state.
