The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Thursday, held that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was wrong to have excluded candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Mrs Natasha Akpoti, in the November 16 governorship election in Kogi State.
Justice Folashade Ogunbiyi-Giwa, in a judgement delivered, held that INEC had no power to disqualify any candidate for an election “as it is the exclusive reserve of a competent court of law.”
According to the judge, the provisions of sections 31(1) and 83 of the Electoral Act which holds that INEC cannot disqualify or reject candidate nominated by a political party for an election is aimed at ensuring that it does not lie within the executive realms of INEC to determine who participate in an election.
The judge added that the intention of the law was to make INEC a true unbiased umpire.
The judge stressed that section 31 (1) of the Electoral Act specifically stated that INEC shall not for any reason whatsoever disqualify any candidate sponsored by a political party for an election.
She further held that paragraph 15 of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution which defines the powers of the commission did not include determining the validity or qualification of candidate submitted to it by a political party even if the candidate is not qualified.
The judge said at best the commission being a legal entity could have approached a court of law to disqualify such candidate deemed not qualified to contest an election.
“The defendant cannot arrogate to himself the powers of the court or constitute himself as a quasi court to disqualify candidate,” she said.
Justice Ogunbanjo-Giwa, while noting that the grounds on which a candidate can be substituted in an election as either as a result of death or voluntary withdrawal, held that the defendant did not show anything before the court to the extent that Yakubu’s withdrawal was not made voluntarily.
She also held that both nomination and substitution of candidate by the SDP in the Kogi governorship election slated for November 16 were done within the time frame as required by INEC guidelines for the election.
According to her, SDP submitted its list of nominated candidates on September 6, three days to the September 9 deadline for submission and made its substitution on September 20, three days to the deadline for substitution.
While agreeing with the plaintiffs that INEC had no power to disqualify them for the election or even reject the substitution, Justice Ogunbanjo-Giwa said, “it is worrisome that INEC took all these decisions on its own.
“All the cases cited by the defendants were decision of court not the administrative decision of INEC.”
The judge accordingly granted reliefs one to seven of the plaintiffs and ordered INEC to include the names of the governorship and deputy governorship candidate of the SDP as well as the party’s logo on the ballot in the November 16 governorship poll in Kogi State.
Akpoti, her deputy, Adams Khalid, and the SDP had approached the court to challenge their exclusion from the 2019 Kogi State governorship election by INEC.
The commission had refused to accept the candidature of Khalid in replacement of the earlier nominated deputy governor, Mohammed Yakubu, on the grounds that Yakubu was not qualified in the first place to be fielded as a deputy governorship candidate in the election on account of his age.
But the plaintiffs in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1129/2019 and filed on October 3 by their lawyer, Ola Olanipekun, SAN, sought a declaration of the court that INEC’s declaration vide a letter with reference number: LEG/PP/23/T/107 that “the nomination of Mohammed Yakubu as the deputy governor of the SDP in the gubernatorial election is “invalid” on the grounds of qualification is ultra vires the statutory powers of INEC and it’s therefore null and void.”
The plaintiffs in addition prayed the court to declare that the refusal of INEC to recognise Yakubu as substituted deputy governorship candidate of the SDP in the November 16 gubernatorial election in Kogi was unlawful and unconstitutional ab initio.
“A declaration that the purported rejection and or disqualification of the nominated candidates of the SDP for any reason whatsoever is ultra vires the duties, powers and responsibility of the defenfant”.
“An order setting aside the defendant’s Letter Ref: INEC/LEG/PP/23/T/107 and Letter Ref: |NEC/LEG/PP/23/T/IO9, addressed to the Chairman of the 3rd Plaintiff, same being unconstitutional, null and void ab initio.
“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the Defendant, its Commissioners, officers, staff, agents and privies from giving effect to its decision to reject/disqualify the 1st and 2nd Plaintiffs, as the Governorship and Deputy Governorship Candidates of the 3rd Plaintiff, in the 2019 Kogi State Governorship Election.
“An order of mandatory injunction that the Defendant should place the names of the lst and 2nd Plaintiffs on its list of candidates for the 2019 Kogi State governorship election and further place the name and logo of the 3rd Plaintiff on the ballot paper for the 2019 Kogi State Governorship Election.”
The judge, however, did not grant the request as to costs against the defendant.
