Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court will Friday rule whether or not to restrain the All Progressives Congress (APC) from adopting indirect primary election for the nomination of its governorship candidate for the state governorship election scheduled for November 11, 2019.
Stallholders of party in the state had kicked against the idea of indirect primary to nominate candidate for governorship election in the state.
Justice Taiwo on Thursday reserved ruling till today after listening to Oluwole Aladedoye, counsel to four members of Kogi State APC Executive Council who have approached the court to restrain the party from using indirect primary election on August 29, for the nomination of the party governorship candidate .
The plaintiffs: Destiny Aromeh, Isah Abubakar, Noah Aku and Joy Onu are seeking an order of interim injunction restraining the defendant (APC) by itself, agents, organs or any person whatsoever described from adopting indirect mode of primary for nomination in the forthcoming 2019 Governorship election in the state, pending the determination of their motion on notice.
Aladadoye told the court that the plaintiffs are the genuine elected members of the APC executive council and they would be shut out and would not be allowed to participate in the APC primary if the party adopted an indirect mode of primary for its nomination scheduled for August 29.
The counsel further informed the court that after the plaintiffs were elected as members of the EXCO , some time in 2018, the state Governor, Yahaya Bello, set up a parallel state executive council which they have challenged at the Federal High Court in Abuja in a pending suit before Justice Okon Abang.
The All Progressives Congress’ stakeholders in Kogi State had on June 18 called on the National Working Committee of the APC to ensure that the party’s candidate for the governorship election in the state emerges from a direct rather than indirect primary.
The stakeholders made the call at a meeting attended by 17 out of the 20 governorship aspirants in Abuja
Addressing reporters after the meeting, Senator Alex Kadiri said they decided to come together following reports an “illegal committee” loyal to Governor Yahaya Bello was planning to use an indirect primary election to pick the party’s candidate for the polls.
He said: “We want to reiterate that APC Kogi State is divided, because of the division we went to court. The case is still in court and we have not been able to fast-track the judgment like the one in Zamfara State.
“What Governor Yahaya Bello and his people are doing now are all illegal because the committee they are working with has no legal standing.
“But as we are preparing for the primary, we want it known that we the leaders of the APC and the 20 aspirants of our party are opposed to Yahaya Bello’s contrived method of doing the primary.
“He cannot be a judge of himself, this is irresponsible. We are saying that the Kogi State primary must be a direct primary where all members of the party from all the local government areas will choose who they want as their candidate.”
The stakeholders warned that the party could lose the state to the opposition with Bello as its candidate, claiming the governor was not popular in the state.
Felix Omohomhion, Abuja
