UPN presidential candidate, others sue INEC‎ over disqualification

The presidential candidate of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), Helen Godswill, has dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before a Federal High Court, Lagos over the non-publication of her name as a candidate for the March 28 election.
Godswill, who filed the suit alongside the party and other candidates of the party for election into various elective positions, accused INEC of failing to publish her name and those of others as required by Section 34 of the Electoral Act.
The UPN presidential candidate personally deposed to an affidavit in support of the suit wherein she recalled that despite the fact that INEC monitored the primary elections conducted by the party to select candidates for various elective positions, the Commission nonetheless failed to publish their names for the election, thereby disqualifying UPN candidates from participating in the forthcoming general elections.
The other applicants in the suit, who emerged as UPN candidates for elections into House of Representatives and Houses of Assembly are Adewale Arogundade, Ganiyat Durowoju Folawewo, Taofeek Adedoyin Adeniyi, Augustine Olatunde Omilabu, Henry Ayoola Abimbola, Olufemi Ajayi Gregory, Towobola Adeola Adebowale, Eberechukwu Orehewere and Ekeata Lydia Onwordi.
Others are Chukwuma Chrithopher Egbukichi, Samuel Ayodeji Ajaka, Ganiyat Olabisi Agboola, Ramota Afolashade Raji, Ramon Oreoluwa Ajanosi and Hakeem Kehinde Olaribigbe.
They are specifically seeking an order, directing INEC to list and publish their names as UPN candidates for the elections scheduled to hold on March 28 and April 11.
When the matter came up before Justice Okon Abang on Friday, lawyers to the applicants, Akinwale Ekunusi and Akin Akintola, moved an ex-parte application seeking an order to compel INEC to publish the names of the applicants.
Ekunisi, while moving the ex-parte application, said UPN submitted the names of the applicants to INEC together with their credentials, but when INEC released the names of candidates for the general elections, the names of the applicants were not listed.
He said out of all the names submitted to INEC, only that of Ogun State governorship candidate of the party was listed, a development which Ekunisi claimed brought about the suit after several attempts to make INEC to rescind the decision.
But Justice Abang, in a brief ruling, converted the ex-parte application to motion on notice, saying that justice of the matter demands that INEC should be given opportunity to react to the suit before a decision is arrived at, one way or the other.
The judge said: “I have gone through the process filed by the applicants. If indeed INEC was furnished with the applicants’ name and yet the Commission did not enlist their names for the general elections, then it is proper for rule of fair hearing to allow INEC to come and explain why the names of the applicants were not listed as alleged.”
The judge further ordered that the said motion on notice should be served on INEC on or before March 9, 2015, while the suit was adjourned to March 11, 2015 for hearing.