Isaac Shobayo writes on the raging controversies over the judgments of the various election petition tribunals in Plateau State.
Controversies have continued to trail the recent judgments of the Election Petition Tribunals and the Appeal Court on Plateau State, with the two major parties in the state: the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the centre. Following the result of the last elections, where the PDP defeated the APC, winning governorship, 16 House of Assembly members, two senatorial seats, and six House Representatives’ seats, the APC took recourse in the tribunal seeking favourable judgments. So far, however, the judgments have been a mixed grill.
Three tribunals are saddled with handling petitions arising from the February 25 election: the Justice Mohammed Tukur-led National and State Election Petition Tribunal: Justice Rotimi Williams of the same status, and the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal. The grounds for the petitions by all the parties against the PDP are similar. Their premise is that the party failed to comply with the order of the Plateau State High Court ordering it to conduct a fresh congress, in the aftermath of how it arrived at nomination of its candidates. However, there have been conflicting judgmentsq from the tribunals, especially the two national and state election petition tribunals.
The Justice Tukur-led tribunal, in its judgments, sacked elected PDP lawmakers, saying they were not qualified to sponsor candidates for the election on the basis of a lack of party structure and that “nothing can stand on nothing.” The tribunal, led by Justice Rotimi Williams, gave a contrary judgment on the same matter with similar grounds.
While delivering judgment on the petition filed by the Labour Party candidate, Gyang Zi, and the APC’s Chris Giwa against the winner of the Plateau North senatorial election, Simon Mwadkwon, Justice Rotimi held that the petition brought before the tribunal lacked merit and was dismissed.
On the issue of non-structure in the PDP, the tribunal rule that the petitioners did not have the locus standi to challenge the respondent (the PDP and its candidate). The judgment was at variance with the judgment of Justice Mohammed Tukur-led national and state election petitions.
Still basking in the euphoria of Justice Rotimi Williams’ judgment, the Appeal Court, upturned the judgment and sacked Senator Mwadkwon and Hon. Agah, ordered a re-run of the election.
The Abuja Division of the Appeal Court posited that Mwadkwon was not qualified to contest the election because the PDP had no structure. Reading the lead judgment, Justice E. Daudu held that the PDP failed to fully comply with the high court order as 12 local government areas did not participate in the said party’s congress.
The judgments of the tribunal and Abuja Division of the Appeal Court have been a subject of debate at different fora. While those in sympathy with the PDP in Plateau perceive the judgments as a plot to use the judiciary to wrest Plateau from the PDP and hand it over to the APC, others posit that the PDP is simply paying a price for its disobedience to the court order, which had ordered it to conduct another congress.
On his part, the state Commissioner of Information, Mr Musa Ashom argued that the issue of non-compliance with the court order akin to giving a dog a bad name in order to hang it, adding that the PDP had since complied with the order of the Plateau high court.
A legal practitioner, Kalu Agu, stated that the judgment against the PDP was not consistent with previous judgments. He said the authorities in the apex court held that issues of nominations were internal affairs of a party and the courts do not have any business to interfere in such matters. Noting that the Supreme Court had already ruled that pre-election cases should not be determined by election petition courts, he expressed concern over the use of the same pre-election cases to rule against the PDP. Agu noted how the tribunals are sacking the PDP where the APC came second and where third in the elections, and the tribunals and appeals courts are ordering a rerun.
However, the APC, in a statement by its state publicity secretary, Slyvanus Namang, declared that it envisaged a future that the PDP is exterminated and the APC assuming power in the state. He said that the recent judgment was a page-turning development in the annals of jurisprudence, as the judges have stood very strong and tall in their decisions regardless of what he described as the innuendos, blackmail, and emotional outbursts of the PDP. “We are particularly satisfied with the ratio decidendi of the judgment, one of which is the fact that, because the PDP is in disobedience of court orders, it is not qualified to sponsor candidates for any election in the state. An icing on the cake is one of the court’s pronouncements that candidates who contested on the platform of the PDP did so as independent candidates, and independent candidacy is alien to our Constitution. We do not need a soothsayer to interpret the far-reaching legal implication of this judicial pronouncement,” he declared.
Namang, who said the PDP shot itself on the foot and ought not to have participated in the last general election as it did not have the legal structure to have validly nominated and fielded candidates for the national elections due to its disobedience of court orders, especially the Justice S. P. Gang of the Plateau high court’s judgment and directive to the party to conduct a congress to constitute a legally binding party executive committee, which it refused to do since 2020.
Disturbed by the judgments from both the tribunal and the Appeal Court, the PDP Governors Forum expressed concern over what it tagged as the Appeal Court judgments disqualifying PDP lawmakers in Plateau on pre-election matters.
The chairman of the Forum, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, emphasised that while the Supreme Court has set precedents on pre-election issues, PDP candidates in Plateau were being disqualified on the same grounds. The forum called on the judiciary at the apex level to preserve the integrity of the legal system and prevent distortion of the country’s jurisprudence. Governor Muhammad reaffirmed the forum’s confidence in the judiciary’s ability to administer justice in political and other cases before the courts. The forum called on the judiciary at the apex level to preserve the integrity of the legal system and prevent distortion of the country’s jurisprudence.
It was however learned that the PDP, at the state and national levels, has petitioned the President, Court of Appeal, asking for the disbandment of the three-man panel of justices, E.Q. Williams Dawodu, Mohammed Mustapha, and Okon E. Abang of the Abuja Judicial Division. In the petition signed by the national chairman of the PDP, Ambassador Umar Iliya Damagum, it pointed out that the party and its candidates had no confidence in the panel, saying going by the reasoning of the learned justices, it cannot be rest assured that they will dispense justice fairly.
However, the APC-Strategic Monitoring Team (APC-SMT) told the PDP in Plateau and at the national level to desist from blaming the judiciary for its predicaments over the recent judgments at the Tribunal and Court of Appeal. The leader of the group, Comrade Golepji Wambutda, said the PDP’s outburst was a misdirection of aggression and a threat to peace in Plateau, stating that the Court of Appeal was not the enemy of anyone or group but among the true gatekeepers of democracy. He said; “As far as we are concerned, the DP should stop blaming the judiciary for its predicaments. It paraded injured players in the last election, and it is now reaping the consequences of its action, so it should blame itself rather than the judiciary or the APC.
“The law of the land must have its way regardless of whose ox is gored; emotion, threats, intimidation, or blackmail cannot subvert the democracy that is the core of Nigerian politics. This surreptitious style the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has adopted must be made to fall flat on its face, and we are determined to achieve the same decorously.”
However, interest groups both within and outside the state have been expressing fears over the unfolding development, which they claim can snowball into a deep political crisis if not efficiently handled. Among others, a group christened the Plateau South People Assembly (PSPA) said the development called for a great concern about the role of the judiciary in the entire saga, especially in upholding the tenets of democracy and appreciating the will of the people. In a statement signed by its Chairman, Dashe Dawan, and Secretary Timloh Vongen, respectively. The group called on the judiciary to save democracy and allow justice to be served. Meanwhile, there is suspense in the state as the outcome of appeals before the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division will determine and reshape Plateau politics.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM TheWitness
Jet crash: I’m in good spirits — Minister of Power, Adelabu
Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, on Saturday allayed fears about his safety following Friday’s incident near…
Senator Natasha pays condolence visit to family of late Ohinoyi
While addressing sympathisers at the Palace of the late Ohinoyi, in Okene, Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan noted the former was…
Appeal Court sacks Senate Minority Whip, Nwokocha
Nwokocha, Tribune Online learned, represents Abia Central in the red chamber of the National Assembly on the platform of…
Why I was not part of Big Brother All Stars —Tobi Bakre
Former Big Brother Naija star, Tobi Bakre has said he didn’t regret not being part of the Big Brother Naija All Stars edition, noting that his…
What critics of Rufai Oseni don’t know about journalism
A viral, contentious dialogic confrontation between Arise TV’s Rufai Oseni and one Jesutega Onokpasa, identified as a lawyer and “APC chieftain,” on…
FULL LIST: Osimhen, Gift Orban bag nominations at 2023 CAF Awards
Super Eagles and Napoli forward, Victor Osimhen, has been nominated for the 2023 Confederation of African Football (CAF) Men Player of...
