Party Primaries: Court Of Appeal Affirms Obioma Ken Ebenizer As PDP Candidate For Oshodi/Isolo II Federal Constituency

*Awards Punitive Cost Against Adeoye Adelaja

The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division has, on 06 December 2022 dismissed the Appeal (CA/LAG/CV/1053/2022) challenging the decision of the Federal High Court which had earlier affirmed the nomination of Mr. Obioma Ken Ebenizer as the PDP candidate for Oshodi-Isolo II Federal Constituency in the fast approaching 2023 general elections.

The Court ruled that not only was Mr. Ebenizer (the 3rd Respondent) the adjudged winner of the May 22, 2022 primary election of the party, as evident from the election result sheet but that the Plaintiff/Appellant also failed to establish his claim (and appeal) before the court, noting that the burden of proof was on the Appellant to establish his case which he failed woefully to do.

The Appellant, Mr Adeoye Adelaja, had approached the Court of Appeal to be declared the winner of the 06 June 2022 (repeat) primaries conducted by the Party in the state. He had argued that his name was recommended as the Party’s flag bearer by the PDP NEC-appointed Electoral committee that conducted the repeat primaries of 06 June 2022.

On his part, the court-adjudged winner, Mr Obioma Ebenizer, through his lawyer Mr Prince I. Nwafuru Esq, a Founding Partner at The Law Suite (who led Peter N. Akpu in the Appeal) argued that the primaries of May 22, 2022 at the Oshodi/Isolo II Federal constituency are valid and were never invalidated by the Party and that the repeat primaries held across Lagos State were majorly to accommodate other constituencies in the State where there were records of violence. Mr Nwafuru argued that the burden of proof is on the Appellant to establish with cogent and credible evidence that there was a valid primary on 06 June 2022 and also that he (the Appellant) won the said Primary. He submitted that there were no contradictions in the case of the PDP and the 3rd Respondent as argued by the Appellant because the first Primary of 22 May 2022 was valid and produced a winner (the 3rd Respondent) which explained why the PDP National Working Committee opted to re-adopt it as the valid Primary for Oshodi/Isolo II Federal Constituency as doing otherwise would mean that PDP has no candidate in Oshodi/Isolo II Federal Constituency. The decision of the Party to hold a repeat Primary on 06 June 2022 in respect of Oshodi/Isolo II is an internal affair of the Party which is not open to any inquiry or adjudication by the Courts as established in a plethora of judicial authorities.

Mr Nwafuru further argued that the repeat Primary of 06 June 2022 relied upon by the Appellant cannot give birth to a valid Candidate as the said Primary was inconclusive as demonstrated by the Report issued by INEC (a body statutorily empowered to monitor Primary Elections in Nigeria). Incidentally the Appellant himself exhibited in evidence at the Lower Court, the said INEC Report thereby giving a befitting burial to his own case. It was also argued on behalf of Mr Ebenizer that nomination of candidates by political parties under the current dispensation of pre-election jurisprudence cannot be done by recommendation of Electoral Committee as erroneously argued by the Appellant’s Counsel but by a valid Primary conducted in line with the Electoral Act, 2022 and Party Constitution and Guidelines.

The Court of Appeal in a unanimous judgment agreed with all the submissions of Mr Prince Nwafuru for the 3rd Respondent and found that there exists a rebuttable presumption of regularity on the result sheet evidencing the conduct of primaries, a presumption that affirms the May 22, 2022 primaries, which the Appellant did not disprove or rebut.

The Appellate Court also held that the recommendation of an Adhoc committee or delegated group within the party does not supplant the function of the party to nominate its candidate. Thus, the party was not bound to adopt the ‘recommendation’, which is considered persuasive. The court reaffirmed the now-settled principle that the internal affairs of political parties are of no concern to the Court.

The Appeal was dismissed in its entirety and the cost of N200,000.00 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira) was awarded against the Appellant and in favour of the 3rd Respondent.

Although, the Appellant has further appealed to the Supreme Court, it will be interesting to see how the Apex Court will approach some of the novel arguments and issues advanced by the Parties in this Appeal.