The Supreme Court has reversed the sacking of Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang.
The apex court said the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Nentawe Goshwe, had no right to challenge the primary election of the governor in court.
THE WHISTLER reports that the lower court had on November 19 sacked Mutfwang of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in an appeal filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Nentawe Goshwe, which challenged his declaration as the winner of the March 18, 2023 election.
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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Mutfwang winner with 525,299 votes, while Goshwe was credited with 481,370 votes.
The Plateau State Tribunal had affirmed Mutfwang’s election on the ground that PDP’s congress remained an internal party affair that cannot be challenged by an outsider.
Undeterred, Goshwe appealed the tribunal’s decision to the Appeal Court, requesting that the Tribunal’s judgment be overturned.
In its judgement , a three-member panel of the Appeal Court, led by Justice Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu, said the Tribunal’s decision was contrary to the provisions of the Electoral Act and relevant laws regarding jurisdiction, membership and sponsorship by a political party.
Williams-Dawodu held there was no evidence that the PDP complied with a subsisting High Court order which had directed it to conduct a valid party congress prior to its sponsorship of the governorship and other candidates.
The Appeal Court subsequently removed the governor, saying the issue was not about nomination or sponsorship but disobedience to a subsisting court order which had not been set aside.
THE WHISTLER reports that the appeal court had equally sacked four PDP lawmakers from Plateau State for emerging from the invalid party congress in contravention of a subsisting order of court.
At the Supreme Court proceedings on Tuesday, the governor’s counsel, Kanu Agabi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said the judgement of the court below should be set aside in line with his appeal filed on December 16, while the decision of the Tribunal should be affirmed.
Agabi said that alleged disobedience to a subsisting orders of court is not part of the grounds to consider in disqualifying a candidate sponsored by a political party.
Counsel for the APC candidate, Prof. J.O Olatoke, was asked if the order of a high court which obviously was given without jurisdiction can have an effect against the PDP and its candidates.
Olatoke replied that the matter of invalid congress was instituted by PDP chieftains and was affirmed by the Court of Appeal.
In its decision on Friday, the Supreme Court Justice Agim Emmanuel , in his lead judgment, said it is not in dispute that Mutfwang was elected in aCongress organized by the PDP National Executive Committee in line with the PDP constitution
He said the Court of Appeal lacked the jurisdiction to determine the primary election of the governor for “any reason”.
The judge also held that the APC candidate cannot question the primary election of the governor, not being an aspirant in the PDP, adding “another political party has no right of action against the primary election of Mutfwang.”
Moreso, Justice Emmanuel held that the Plateau state High Court concerning the holding of party congresses in the state by state executive should not affect the powers of the PDP National Executive Committee to hold congress to produce its candidate.
“The order as it is has nothing to do with the power of the PDP NEC,” Emmanuel said.
“In any case, the said order was clearly obeyed. The whole case was an abuse of court process,” Justice Emmanuel held, while dismissing the appeal and affirming the governor as the winner of the governorship election.