National Assembly Complex, Abuja
Six months after they were inaugurated into the National Assembly, the tenure of two Senators and eight House of Representatives members of the opposition Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) from Katsina State ended Friday.
The Supreme Court nullified their election on the ground that they were not validly nominated to contest the April 16 National Assembly election.
This came on a day the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja also ruled on who should be the legitimate candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Anambra North Senatorial seat in the April 16, election.
And the candidate, according to the appellate court, is Lady Margery Chuba Okadigbo, wife of former Senate President, late Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, and not Senator Alphonsus Igbeke, once alleged to have forged documents that helped him win the court case to occupy the seat.
In a unanimous judgment, a seven-man panel of justices of the Supreme Court held that going by the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 and the 1999 constitution as amended, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ought not to have recognised the ousted National Assembly members as authentic candidates of CPC for the April election.
Consequently, the panel presided over by Justice Tanko Mohammed Mahmoud, upheld the verdict of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, which had on April 20 declared the primary election that produced the sacked lawmakers as illegal, null and void.
Those affected by the judgment are Abdu Umar Yandoma and Ahmad Sani Stores hitherto representing Katsina North and Katsina Central senatorial districts respectively as well as Murtala Isa, Muntari Dandutse, Musa Salisu, Aminu Ashiru, Umar Adamu Katsayal, Muhammad Tukur, Tasi’u Doguro, and Abdu Dankama hitherto in the House from Katsina State.
Meanwhile, the apex court has ordered the National Assembly leadership to forthwith swear in ten members of CPC in the state who it said were the bonafide candidates of the party and winners of the primary election that heralded the April poll in the state to replace them.
Those it said should be sworn in to take over the seats of the ousted legislators are Mr. Sadiq Yar’Adua (Katsina Central Senatorial District), Hadi A Sirika (Katsina North), Ahmed B Kaita (Kankia/Kusada/ Ingawa Federeal constituency), Salisu Salisco (Kaita/ Jibiya constituency), Shiek Umar Abubakar (Katsina federal constituency), Salisu Ado Daura (Daura/ Maiaduwa/ Sandamu constituency), Isa Lawa Doro (Mani/ Bindawa constituency), Sani Bello Mashi (Mashi/ Dutsi constituency), Abbas Machika (Kankara/ Faskari/ Sabuwa constituency) and Dr Mansur Funtua (Funtua/ Dandume constituency).
The court voided the election of the other 10 lawmakers on the ground that Section 85 (1) of the Electoral Act 2010 was violated.
The court voided the election of the other 10 lawmakers on the ground that Section 85 (1) of the Electoral Act 2010 was violated.
Section 85(1) of the Electoral Act 2010 requires every registered political party in the country to give a 21-day notice to INEC, notifying it of its intention to conduct a congress for the purpose of nominating candidates for any elective office specified under the Act.
In compliance with the provision, CPC, through its national headquarters, wrote a letter to INEC on December 24, 2010 giving the commission notice of its intention to hold primary elections for the April 2011 National Assembly, state assembly and governorship elections in Katsina State.
CPC had also notified INEC of the constitution of a committee under one Col. Jibril Mohammed Hassan (Rtd) saddled with the responsibility of organizing the primary elections.
The said election, which took place as slated, saw a former House speaker, Hon. Aminu Masari, and others, vying for various national and state assembly offices emerging victorious.
Their names were subsequently ratified by the National Executive Committee and Board of Trustees of the party and forwarded to INEC through the CPC national congress committee led by one Dr Lanre Tejuosho.
Nevertheless, dissatisfied with the nomination process, 43 candidates of the party in the state led by one Senator Lado Danmarke, dragged INEC, the party and its chairman, Prince Tony Momoh, before a federal high court in Abuja contending that they were the legally elected candidates of the party in the state.
On February 15, the trial Justice Abdul Kafarati granted the relief sought by the plaintiffs and okayed them for the April polls.
Following his judgment, CPC leadership went before the appellate court and upturned the lower court’s judgment, a decision that was equally affirmed by the Supreme Court.
In the meantime, the appellate court, which declared Lady Okadigbo as the Senator-elect for Anambra North, ordered the Senate to inaugurate her to occupy the seat, which has been vacant in the past six months due to the various legal actions.
A three-man panel of the appellate court, in its judgment delivered by Justice M.U. Mukhtar, unanimously held that Okadigbo having polled the highest number of votes in the primary election conducted in the state remained the candidate and winner of the Anambra North Senatorial seat in the April 16 election.
The court agreed with all the documents including the primary election result tendered by PDP, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Lady Okadigbo which all indicated that she emerged victorious at the primary election conducted by Senator Joseph Waku Committee on behalf of PDP National Working Committee.
While setting aside the lower court’s verdict, which favoured Senator Igbeke, the appellate court said it was wrong of the federal high court to have based its decision solely on the documents submitted to it by Igbeke and closed its eyes to other documents of the other parties in the case especially PDP, INEC and Lady Okadigbo.
Specifically, the court after evaluating all documents relating to the case agreed that Lady Okadigbo polled 168 votes, Senator Igbeke 23 votes and Prince John Emeka 15 votes.
It therefore had no hesitation in declaring Lady Okadigbo as the properly nominated candidate of PDP and winner of the last April National Assembly Election in the senatorial district.
Both Igbeke and Emeka are laying claims to the seat.
Igbeke had been charged with forging the documents with which he obtained the documents which the federal high court relied upon in declaring him as the winner of the election into the senatorial district.
Igbeke had been charged with forging the documents with which he obtained the documents which the federal high court relied upon in declaring him as the winner of the election into the senatorial district.
He had, however, challenged the jurisdiction of the court to try him for the offence.
At press time, Anambra North Senatorial District is not represented as the Senate had refused to swear in any of the contenders for the seat based on an advice from INEC.
At press time, Anambra North Senatorial District is not represented as the Senate had refused to swear in any of the contenders for the seat based on an advice from INEC.
The appellate court had consolidated all the appeals brought by Prince John Emeka, PDP and INEC seeking to set aside the judgment of Justice Abdul Kafarati of Federal High Court, Abuja, which favoured another aspirant, Senator Igbeke.
Lady Okadigbo had argued that she participated in the PDP-recognized primary election, while others argued that they participated in other primary elections conducted by some other state executives of the party.
INEC stood its ground that the nomination of candidate was an internal arrangement of political parties.
PDP represented by its National Legal Adviser, Chief Olusola Oke, had argued that the party did not recognize any other primary election other than the one conducted by Senator Joseph Waku on behalf of its NWC.
In a reaction to the judgment, eminent indigenes of the senatorial district have called on the leadership of the Senate to immediately inaugurate Lady Okadigbo in compliance with the court order and as a mark of respect for the rule of law.
A former Special Adviser to the late Chuba Okadigbo, Dr. James Okoroma, asked the Senate President to ensure quick inauguration of the winner so as to occupy the vacant seat of Anambra North.
Okoroma regretted that the people of Anmabra North have no voice in the National Assembly on national issues affecting the country in the past six months, adding that it would be a thing of joy for the representative of the district to be allowed to take her seat and champion the cause of the people of the district without any further delay.
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