2015: Court shifts judgment on Enugu PDP crisis to Friday
For those who think that the battle for the ticket of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governor ticket in Enugu State, there is a shock. Senator Ayogu Eze, who claims that the ticket given to Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi is his, is fighting on.
The case came up before Justice Evoh Chukwu of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, Tuesday for the determination of the case brought before it by Senator Eze asking for his recognition as the authentic governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Enugu Stat.
But Justice Chukwu deferred the case till Friday.
Justice Chukwu did not adduce any reason why the verdict which was originally scheduled for delivery yesterday could not hold.
It will be recalled that though it was Senator Ayogu Eze that lodged the suit before the court, Mr. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi who is currently enjoying the support of the national leadership of the PDP, subsequently applied and was joined as an interested party in the matter.
The duo are laying claim to the governorship ticket of the the PDP in Enugu State having emerged from two parallel primary elections that held in the state.
Both the plaintiff who argued through his lawyer Mr. Yusuf Ali, SAN, and Ugwuanyi who was represented by his lawyer, Mr. Patrick Ikwueto, SAN, insisted before the court that the primary elections that produced them were duly monitored by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
Joined as defendants in the suit were the PDP, its National Chairman, Mr. Adamu Mu’azu and INEC.
Justice Chukwu adjourned the case for judgment after all the parties in the matter exchanged and adopted their written arguments, even as the defendants urged the court to dismiss the suit for want of merit.
Senator Eze had in his suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2014, prayed the court to restrain ‘’the PDP, the National Working Committee, NWC, and INEC, by themselves, agents, officers, officials, privies or representatives and other person whatsoever, deriving authority from them from submitting, forwarding or sending the names of any other person other than himself, as their duly elected governorship candidate for 2015 governorship election in Enugu State, pending the final determination of the substansive case.
He wants an order restraining INEC, its agents, privies, or representatives from recognising, accepting or giving effect to the name of any other person other than himself as the governorship candidate of the the PDP and the National Working Committee, NWC, of the party for the Enugu State governorship election in 2015.
He told the court that PDP had conducted ward congresses in Enugu State on November 1, 2014 as a result of which a list of delegates for the conduct of primary election for the governorship candidate of the party emerged consisting names of the elected delegates.
According to him, the list was sanctioned and authenticated by the Federal High Court, Abuja, in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/816/2014, which judgement was delivered on November 24, 2014.
Eze contended that he emerged as the governorship candidate of the party based on the correct delegates list sanctioned by the same court, adding however that the defendants were bent on sending another person other than his name to INEC as their chosen governorship candidate for the said 2015 election.
“If the defendants were not restrained from doing so, pending the the determination of of this case, the judgement of the court will be rendered nugatory”, he pleaded.
He further wants the court to among other things, determine “Whether having regard to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended, Sections 85 to 87 of the Electoral Act 2011 as amended, the electoral guidelines for primary elections 2014, the defendants could jettison, set aside refuse to use or in any other manner ignore the result of the ward congresses held on November 1, 2014 where ad-hoc delegates from the 260 wards of Enugu State were elected in the conduct of the primary elections to elect the governorship candidate of the PDP for the general elections in 2015”.
Meanwhile, arguing through its lawyer Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, PDP and its Chairman challenged the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit which they said was within the purview of a domestic affair of a political party.
The 1st and 2nd defendant told the court that the plaintiff emerged through a kangaroo primary election which they said was not certified by the National Working Committee, NWC, of the party.
Ikpeazu argued that under section 87 of the Electoral Act, only primary election sanctioned by the NWC of the party could be deemed valid.
He told the court that Ayogu Eze actually came to the venue where the “authentic primary” election that produced Ugwuanyi was conducted, but stormed out with some of his supporters to another venue to conduct the parallel primary poll where he was declared winner.
PDP further refuted the allegation that it jettisoned a list of delegates that was originally approved by the high court, saying it was never at any time mandated by any court judgment to stick to any particular list of delegates.
“The court only upheld the list of those that emerged from the November 1 delegates election, it did not make an order that the list must be used”, PDP argued.
It equally challenged the plaintiff to produce the list he said was used in the primary that produced Ugwuanyi and the one he said was initially approved by the court.
Similarly, INEC through its lawyer Mr. T.M. Inuwa on Tuessday distanced itself from the primary election that produced the plaintiff.
It told the court that it imputed zero vote for the plaintiff following his absence at the primary election where Ugwuanyi was declared winner.
A similar case which was filed by another governorship candidate of the PDP in the state and owner of Peace Mass Transit Limited, Dr. Samuel Maduka Onyishi is still pending before the high court.
