Appeal Court Affirms Tribunal’s Refusal To Cancel Suit

…Abide by party constitution, Edo PDP chair urges members

The Court of Appeal in Benin, Edo State, on Thursday affirmed the decision of the governorship election petitions tribunal to defer ruling in an application seeking to strike out the Action Democratic Party (ADP) petition.

Respondents in the petition are the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Governor Godwin Obaseki, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate for the September 19, 2020, election, Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

The appellate court also affirmed the tribunal’s decision not to strike out the fourth and fifth respondents as parties to the petition.

Justice Jummai Sankey of the Court of Appeal, who delivered the lead judgment, held that Section 285 (8) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, made it mandatory for the tribunal to defer ruling on interlocutory applications challenging its jurisdiction and/or the competence of the petition till the final judgment stage.

Sankey also struck out another appeal by Action Alliance (AA) and its candidate, Ukonga Onaivi, against Obaseki, PDP and INEC, on grounds that the appellants filed their brief of argument out of time.

The appellate court, however, considered AA’s appeal on its merit and dismissed it after all the issues raised were resolved against the appellants.

The appeal filed by AA and its governorship candidate bordered on whether the tribunal was right to strike out the petition without deferring the ruling till the final judgment. The court however held that the petitioner’s failure to apply for hearing notice within the stipulated time contravened Paragraph 18 (4) of the first schedule to the Electoral Act, and that the provision was not inconsistent with the provisions of Section 285 (8) of the constitution.

The tribunal fixed February 9 for adoption of final written addresses in ADP’s petition.

Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Tony Aziegbemi has admonished members to always abide by the party constitution.

Aziegbemi, who spoke yesterday in Benin, said the PDP is governed by its constitution.

He said: “PDP has a constitution which is the supreme document that dictates and determines the various organs, their composition, functions and roles. The party constitution is clear on its administrative and decision-making organs.

“It is our belief that these organs of PDP, as enshrined in the constitution, must be empowered and given unwavering support, devoid of any external consideration. Two organs exist at the senatorial level, which are recognised by our constitution – the senatorial executive committee (an elected body) and the senatorial district caucus (an advisory body). We hereby ask all senatorial chairmen and local government party chairmen to send a list of their proposed caucuses to the state secretariat for approval before its inauguration…”