A Federal High Court in Abuja, Tuesday, fixed December 4 to deliver a judgment in a suit seeking to nullify the Delta State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary that produced Great Ogboru as the party”s candidate.
Justice Nnamdi Dimgba arrived at the date after all parties adopted their written addresses when the case resumed on Tuesday.
A former speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Hon. Victor Ochei, had instituted the case, asking the court to nullify the recently conducted governorship primary election that produced Ogboru as candidate of the APC for the 2019 general elections.
Ochei in the suit, which has as defendants the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the APC and Chief Ogboru, wants the court to declare that the primary election of September 30 was illegal and unlawful on grounds that delegates who participated in it were not known to law.
READ ALSO: Appeal Court affirms Okowa’s election
The plaintiff, in the suit filed by his lawyer, Ahmed Raji SAN, averred that the Federal High Court judgment by Justice Anwuri Chikere delivered on June 19 in Abuja where the list of delegates of APC in Delta state was authenticated by the court, was violated by the national leadership of the party to conduct the primary election.
Ochei said, contrary to the contents of the judgment of the court, the APC leadership went out of its way to jettison the court judgment and used unknown delegates for the September 30 primary election.
He therefore asked the court to nullify the purported primary election on the grounds that it was unlawful, unjust and deliberately carried out in disregard of judicial sanctity.
The plaintiff also prayed the court for an order compelling the APC to immediately conduct a fresh primary election with the list of delegates endorsed in the consent judgment of the Federal High Court.
The governorship aspirant also prayed for an order of perpetual injunction restraining INEC or its agents from accepting, recognizing or utilizing the name of Chief Great Ogboru, who purportedly emerged as winner of the primary election in contention.
In a 40-paragraph affidavit in support of the suit, the former Speaker claimed that he was denied fair participation in the primary election in spite of his payment of N22.5m for expression of interest and nomination forms.
He further averred that the order of court was brazenly violated by the national leadership of the APC in the conduct of the primary election by deviating from a subsisting court judgment and that unless the court intervenes, the governorship election in Delta State will be a product of fraud.
When the matter came up yesterday, counsel to the first defendant (INEC), Ebuka Nwaneze, said the Commission was opposed to the originating summon on five grounds. He held that the court has no jurisdiction to entertain the matter. “The jurisdiction confers on this court in pre-election matter is not applicable here”, he said
He said the court does not have jurisdiction to determine the matter as it is.
Counsel to APC, the second defendant, Chief Adeniyi Akintola, also asked the court to dismiss the originating summon in its entirety.
Ogboru’s counsel, Chief Ebuka Imoh, said his client is objecting to the matter purely on point of law, asking that the suit to be struck out.
He said in this circumstance, when the plaintiff is asking the court to set aside or enforce the consent judgment of another high court, is practically impossible.
He said the plaintiff’s originating summon was legally deficit, arguing that the process is faulty. He thus asked the matter be dismissed.
After all the submissions, Justice Dimgba fixed December 4 for judgment.
Felix Omohomhion, Abuja
