Lawyer to the Senator Kabiru Marafa faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara State, Mike Ozekhome, has faultered the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to include Zamfara APC candidates on the ballot paper.
Although Mr Ozekhome agreed on Friday that the judgment by the Court of Appeal in Abuja given on Thursday set aside the January 27, 2019 judgment by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, he argued that the Court of Appeal failed to make a consequential order directing INEC to accept candidates from Zamfara APC.
That, according to him, means that the earlier decision by the electoral body, refusing the party’s candidates, still stands.
In two separate documents issued on Friday – a press release and a letter to INEC Chairman (both of which he personally signed), Ozekhome urged INEC to reject candidates from Zamfara APC on the grounds that “nothing has changed,” despite the Appeal Court judgment given in Abuja on February 21, 2019.
He wrote, “The judgment given by the Court of Appeal today clearly stated that the appeal partially succeeded and went ahead to set aside the judgment of the lower court on jurisdiction only, but refuse to grant the cause of action component of the appeal.
“By this, the Court of Appeal refused to grant INEC any order to revive candidates of the APC from Zamfara state.
“The cross-appeal therefore partially failed because, from the onset, APC had a complaint against INEC only. Governor had applied to join the case voluntarily.
“And, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu in her judgment held that ‘APC did not seek any relief against the 2nd to 6th dependents (Yari & Co) and considering that Yari and & Co didn’t file a counter claim, or cross action against APC in the suit, she now held that Yari & Co have nothing to add in this case.
“The false assertion that the Court of Appeal had cleared the way for the APC to participate in Saturday’s election is therefore a lie from the pit of hell.
“It is nothing short of the desperate minute by frustrated politician holding on any available straw to smuggle themselves Willy nilly into Saturday’s election. This cannot work.
“INEC is hereby reminded that there exists in addition to the above legal obstacles, a subsisting appeal which arose from the Zamfara State High Court judgment, which is still extant and pending before the Sokoto division of the Court of Appeal , in Appeal no: CA/S/32/2019.
“In any event, the judgment of the Federal High Court, going by the judgment of the Court of Appeal still partially succeeded, since the Court of Appeal refused to make any clear mandatory orders directing INEC to receive any candidates from Yari group for the purpose of Saturday’s elections.
“INEC is therefore obligated and legally bound to stand by its earlier well founded position that APC, having never conducted any primaries in Zamfara state, have no candidates in the forthcoming elections in Zamfara state, have no candidate in the forthcoming elections in Zamfara state, except the presidential election.
“Any other act by INEC in fielding any candidates from the Governor Yari’s group or the “G-8” group will be illegal, unconstitutional, null, void and of no effect whatsoever,” Ozekhome said.
He made similar argument in the letter to the Chairman of INEC.
