Aspirant Moves to stop a Nigerian state poll

A contender for the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party for the Kogi state Gubernatorial election scheduled for 3rd December had written to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof Atahiru Jega, calling for the suspension of the exercise pending the determination of his suit challenging the emergence of Capt Idris Wada as the party’s flat bearer for the election.

The contender, Alhaji Jibrin Isah Echocho, has been battling to retain the ticket he won at an earlier primary conducted by the party last January before a Federal High Court judgment stopped the governorship election in some states, including Kogi.

A PDP chieftain in the state and a stunch supporter of Echocho, Alhaji Umar Lawal, had gone to court seeking for an order to declare the later primary election held by the PDP which produced Capt Wada, as invalid and illegal, and praying the court to uphold the earlier January primary election through which Echocho emerged the party’s flag bearer.

Echocho in his letter dated November 17, 2011, and signed on his behalf by his lawyer, Mr. R.O Adakole and titled “Notice of pendency of action and the need to maintain status quo, re:suit no: FHC/ABJ/CS/807/2011, Umar A. Lawal Vs Independent National Election Commission and 2 ors and Alhaji Jibrin Isah’ and made available to newsmen in Abuja, informed the electoral umpire of the subsisting case.

The letter reads in part,”We wish to recall that the above suit was commenced against your commission via leave of the honorable court granted on the 21
st day of September, 2011 whereof the applicant was granted leave to apply for order of judicial review by way of mandamus, prohibition and other declarative reliefs.

Upon the grant of the said leave, the enrolled order of the honorable court and the motion on notice were duly served on your commission and the other parties.

We wish to note that the subject matter of the pending action against your commission and the others in the above mentioned suit is the determination of the question of- “who is the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Kogi state governorship election, which you had slated for December 3, 2011.

Take notice that in view of the subsisting action, the res of the matter is subjudice and all actions must wait the determination of the question/action as to do otherwise will not only be contemptuous but an affront on the course of Justice.

On the premises of the foregoing, we hereby enjoin you to refrain from taking any further steps including holding of any election pending the determination of the substantive suit”.

The court had adjourned hearing into the suit to November 24th.

By Nnamdi Felix/Abuja