- FINTIRI/JAMILU
The dismissal of the case of Alhaji Jamilu Waziri against Governor Ahmadu Fintiri by both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, has finally been affirmed by the Supreme Court and for the same reasons given by both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal. The incumbent Governor Ahmadu Fintiri is therefore good to go as a candidate of the PDP in the March 11th Governorship election in Adamawa state.
The question now is, why was Waziri’s case dismissed by all the three courts and for the same reasons?
- Waziri obtained, completed and returned his nomination form to contest the PDP governorship primaries.
- But he was disqualified by the Screening Committee because he did not submit his receipts for payment of party dues.
- Waziri then appealed to the Primary Election Appeal Committee in PDP Zonal office, Bauchi and appeared before the committee with his receipts. As a result, the Appeal Committee cleared him and certified him okay to contest the primaries.
- But the National Working Committee of the party in Abuja disqualified him again because, according to them, the receipts he later presented to the Appeal Committee were obtained after he was disqualified by the Screening Committee otherwise he would have presented the receipts to the Screening Committee instead of to the Appeal Committee.
- It was in this backwards and forward confusion that the PDP Governorship primary election was conducted on 23rd May, 2022 without him.
- Alhaji Jamilu then approached the Federal High Court, Abuja Division and asked the court to set aside the primary election for having been excluded from participating in it.
- The Federal High Court dismissed his claim very simply because section 29(5) of the Electoral Act, which is a new law says –
“ANY ASPIRANT WHO PARTICIPATED in the primaries of his political party who has reasonable grounds to believe that any information given by his political party’s candidate in the affidavit or any document submitted by that candidate in relation to his constitutional requirements to contest the election is false, may file a suit at the Federal High Court against that candidate seeking a declaration that the information contained in the affidavit is false”.
Emphasis mine.
In the old Electoral Act (2010), the law was “Any person”. Now with this new provision, the law is “Any aspirant who participated”.
So the Federal High Court held that –
A. it lacks jurisdiction to entertain the case because political parties have power to set their own rules for conduct of their primaries but what happens during the SCREENING of candidates is an internal affair of the party.
B. since the primary election was held without him, Alhaji Jamilu has no locus standi to ask the court to set it aside because only an aspirant who participated can challenge the outcome of primary election in which he participated.
In fact, in a plethora of cases, courts have answered the question “who is an aspirant“ as “a person who contested the primary election of his party. He must be someone who actually participated in the primary election he is challenging”.
So my big brother Alhaji Jamilu did not even legally qualify as an aspirant. This case is easy to understand and I therefore rest it here.
BINANI/RIBADU
On Thursday, the Court of Appeal, Yola Division dismissed the case of Nuhu Ribadu against Binani. The reasons for the dismissal will be given by the court later but the court has answered all the three issues on which the case rested as –
- the case was filed out of time and therefore statute barred as per section 285 of the constitution;
- the issue of over voting as provided for in section 51 of the Electoral Act; and
- the issue of Delegates from Lamurde LGA.
We need to understand why the FHC resolved the 3 issues in favour of Ribadu and why the Court of Appeal reversed the decision and resolved them in favour of Binani.
However, I will not write anything on this case again until I see the amount of money you guys put in the FMC Paupers account. I will be checking the inflow into the account at Zenith bank daily.
Hospital Paupers Fund
FMC, Yola
Zenith Bank
A/c – 1014406062
Gaskiya in ban gamsu da amount na kudin da kuka saka ba bazani sake rubuta komei a kan case din Binani vs Nuhu ba.