There has been rising disquiet over the judgement of Justice Mohammed Yunusa of the Federal High Court, Kano, on Friday, which nullified the candidature of the 2023 governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP), in Abia State, on the premise of the LP failure to submit the party’s membership registers of Kano and Abia states, to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the governorship primary election. The Judge declared that the votes Otti received in the general election were wasted.
The Chairman of the Section of Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL) of the Nigerian Bar Association, Monday Ubani, speaking on Channels Television Sunrise Daily programme on Monday, faulted the judgment of Justice Mohammed Yunusa of the Federal High Court, Kano, saying that the action of the court is illegal.
He maintained that the duty of removing a governor-elect can only be performed by the election tribunal, not the regular court. He said that the nullification cannot stand, and adding that it undermined the electoral act and the Nigerian constitution.
He stated that the pre-election matters ought to have been rounded within 14 days after the election, arguing that after the declaration of results and issuance certificate of return, any discontented person can only to go to the election petition tribunal.
Ubani had declared: “It can’t stand, It is illogical, it is illegal, it is not in accordance with the electoral act and the Constitution. I will call it nonsensical. You don’t do things that way.
“We must try as much as possible to do certain things that people will begin to look at us as a sane nation.
“That is the provision of section 285, subsection 9 of the 1999 constitution. The moment you don’t do it within that 14 days timeline, it is titled as bad and it can never be revived by any motion or by any other of the court.”
According him, “The judiciary plays a vital role, but provided there is compliance, there are no issues. But if there is no compliance, the judiciary will determine that.”
Ubani had maintained: “Their role is to correct any infractions of the electoral laws. But not for them to substitute the choice of the majority, overturning the majority votes and now giving a minority the opportunity to now elect a state or a country. Their duty is to look at if there are any infractions.”