27th August, 2013
Nnamdi Felix / Abuja
Nigeria’s Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned to Thursday, 29 August to deliver its decision on an appeal instituted by the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, challenging the emergence of Governor Olusegun Mimiko of the Labour as winner of last year’s election.
The election was held 20 October 2012.
Action Congress of Nigeria which recently merged with the Congress for Progressive Change and the All Nigerian Peoples Party to form the All Progressive Congress, APC, failed in an attempt to prevail on the apex court to substitute it with APC following submissions by the People’s Democratic Party, Labour Party and Governor Mimiko, who challenged the competence of ACN’s appeal on the ground that the party had become extinct following it’s merger with others to form APC.
Chief Wole Olanipekun, a senior advocate of Nigeria who represented Governor Mimiko, Chief Yusuf Ali, also a senior advocate of Nigeria who represented Labour Party as well as Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, a senior advocate of Nigeria representing the electoral body, INEC, and Mr. kayode Olatoke representing the PDP, all moved against the ACN’s appeal on the ground that the party had ceased to exist in Nigeria and as such cannot be seen challenging an election contested by valid and existing political parties.
Following these submissions, Mr. Wole Aina, ACN’s lawyer made an application to have the new party, APC, be substituted for ACN but this was also resisted by the other parties. Chief Olanipekun challenged the competence of Mr. Aina to represent the APC which was not a party in the election petition matter that gave rise to the instant appeals. He argued that the court lacks the jurisdiction to grant the application.
In a short ruling, the apex court agreed with the other parties in the matter.
Delivering the ruling, the seven- man panel of the court led by Justice Walter Unnonghe, held that it indeed lacked the jurisdiction to grant the request of ACN, and thereafter ordered that the name of ACN be struck out from the appeal thereby leaving the appeal filed by the party’s candidate, Chief Rotimi Akeredolu as the party’s only challenge to the election of Governor Mimiko.
The Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ondo state had dismissed the petitions filed by the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, and its candidate, Rotimi Akeredolu and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate Chief Olusola Oke challenging the victory of Dr Olusegun Mimiko and upheld the election of Dr Olusegun Mimiko as the governor the state.
The chairman of the Tribunal,Justice Kaka held that there was no concrete and credible evidence before the tribunal that any injection of voters was done by INEC adding that the matter is a pre election matter in which the tribunal lacked jurisdiction.
Both Akeredolu and the PDP’s candidate, Chief Wole Oke approached the Court of Appeal to challenge the decision of the Tribunal but the appellate court after hearing the parties upheld the decision of the Tribunal.
The defeated candidates moved to the Supreme Court where they are both asking the apex court to order for a fresh governorship election in the state.