The Supreme Court, on Friday, in a unanimous decision by a five-man panel of Justices, upheld the judgement of a Federal High Court barring the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State from submitting names of candidates for the forthcoming elections.
The apex court affirmed the judgment of the trial court that stopped APC from conducting its ward, local government and state congresses in Rivers State, pending the determination of a suit that was filed by 22 aggrieved chieftains of the party.
By this ruling, the APC in Rivers State will field no candidates in the National Assembly election scheduled for February 16, and the governorship and State House of Assembly polls holding on March 2.
The litigants on May 11, 2018 secured an interim injunction from a High Court in Port Harcourt, which restrained the APC from going ahead with the indirect primaries that held on May 19, 20 and 21 respectively which produced Tonye Cole as governorship candidate and other candidates to represent the party in the 2019 elections.
The APC through its lawyer, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, pleaded with the Supreme Court to clear legal impediments against the party’s list of candidates that contained Cole’s name.
But the request was rejected by the panel of the apex court led by Justice Mohammad Dattijo, which rather re-affirmed its previous ruling that validated the High Court order that barred the APC from conducting its Rivers primaries.
The Supreme Court evoked section 22 of its act which allows it to take over a matter and give final judgment to decide on the appeal.
In a lead judgment delivered by Justice Sidi Bage, the apex court held that by virtue of section 11 rule 5 of the Appeal Court rules, the appeal against the High Court ruling, having been withdrawn by the APC, was tantamount to outright dismissal.
Justice Bage said that since the Court of Appeal failed to make dismissal pronouncement for the said appeal, the apex court had no choice than to evoke section 22 of the Supreme Court act to assume jurisdiction over the case and decide on it.
“It is my considered opinion that this appeal must be given a decent burial. The appeal having been withdrawn at the lower court by the respondent is deemed distilled. This is what the lower court failed or evaded to do.
“Therefore, by virtue of section 22 of the Supreme Court act 2004, the lower court, having failed to exercise its powers provided under order 11 rule 5, this court is bound to do so.
“Thus I will allow the appeal and set aside the ruling of the lower court dated October 31st 2018. I hereby dismiss Appeal No CA/PH/198/2018, same having been validly withdrawn.”
The Ojukaye Flag-Amachree – led APC had appealed the ruling of Justice Chiwendu Nwogu, which nullified the APC Rivers State congresses and the nomination of Cole as the party’s governorship flag bearer in the forthcoming general elections.
Justice Nwogu of a Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt had declared as illegal, null and void the direct and indirect primaries conducted by factions of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State during the pendancy of the matter before the court.
The court also restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising any candidates of the APC for the 2019 general elections in Rivers State and ordered the commission to remove the names of all APC candidates from the ballot and other electoral materials.
Felix Omohomhion, Abuja
