The Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, has voided he judgment of a Federal High Court that sacked the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Tonye Cole, and national, and state assembly candidates.
It can be recalled that a court presided by Justice Emmanuel Obile in Port Harcourt on 24th November had sacked the candidates of APC following a suit by George Orlu and five others over their alleged exclusion from party’s delegate congresses.
The Court of Appeal gave the decisions in three separate judgments on an appeal brought by the APC, the governorship candidate of the party, Tonye Cole, and the national and state assembly candidates, arising from the earlier judgement.
However, the three-man special panel of the Court of Appeal in their judgment delivered by the led Judge, Justice Muhammed Lawal-Shaibu said George Orlu and five others did not exhaust internal party mechanism before instituting the suit.
Shaibu held that the respondents did not participate in the congress of the APC and so did not have any cause of action and lacked the locus standi to go to court.
He said it was inconceivable for the Federal High Court judge not to have joined some candidates of APC who are interested parties in the suit.
The panel said the nomination of delegates and political parties is purely internal party affairs, and that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit ab initio.
Shaibu thereby set aside the judgment against APC and awarded the sum of five hundred thousand naira each for the three cases as cost against the appeal respondents in favour of APC.
Similarly, in a 15-grounds appeal instituted by senatorial, federal reps and state assembly candidates the court held that the aggrieved defendants at appeal could not exhaust the internal mechanisms as provided by the party’s constitution before going to court.
He said the trial judge did something strange when it delivered judgement on the preliminary objection of the defence and the substantive matter just to grant all the prayers of the plaintiff.
Shaibu said the judge was in a serious error for not going into the merit of the matter, questioning how the court got reasons to deliver its judgement without properly examining the matter.
He said the appeals by APC, Cole and assembly candidates were in merit and are allowed.
However, the Rivers APC 2023 Campaign Council has commended the judiciary for standing on the path of justice.
The spokesman of the council, Sogbeye Eli, said the judgement would give Rivers people the opportunity to choose among candidates at the poll, calling on politicians to approach democracy with utmost responsibility.
Eli said the APC will commence activities following the decision, adding that the party will not apply to the state to use public schools for compaigns.
He said: “We will not apply to anybody to use schools. If we do that it amounts to illegality. We are in court challenging it.”
