There was heavy jubilation in Akure and across the 15 local government areas of Ondo State yesterday following the victory of the factional candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Eyitayo Jegede SAN, at the Court of Appeal, Abuja.
The Court of Appeal had set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court that made Jimoh Ibrahim Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate for Ondo State election scheduled for Saturday 26, November. By implication, the court has restored Mr. Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) as the candidate of the PDP for the election. Jegede’s name, which was first sent to the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC), by the PDP was replaced with Jimoh Ibrahim following the judgment set aside yesterday.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Ibrahim Saulawa, the three-member Special Panel of the appellate court vacated the June 29 judgment of Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which ordered INEC to recognise Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim as PDP governorship candidate for the poll. Justice Abang had also in the same judgment warned the electoral body against accepting any candidate nominated by the Senator Ahmed Markafi-led National Caretaker Committee of the PDP.
Acting on the strength of the order, INEC, promptly removed Jegede’s name from the list of candidates for the Ondo governorship poll, and replaced it with Mr. Ibrahim.
Aggrieved by the development, Jegede who was not a party to the case at the lower court had approached the appellate court and challenged the high court verdict after his name was replaced with that of the Ali Modu-Sheriff faction of the PDP. Justice Saulawa in his ruling resolved all the seven issues raised in the appeal in favour of the appellant and added that the trial court’s refusal to allow fair hearing “rendered the entire proceedings before the lower court a nullity.”
According to Justice Saulawa, “Indeed it is obvious from the records that the appellant’s name had been duly published as the governorship candidate of the 11th respondent (PDP) for the November 26 Ondo governorship election. “The lower court was in grievous error when it ordered the publication of Jimoh Ibrahim’s name.
“The decision of the High court was in total breach of the provision of section 36 of the 1999 constitution, which forbade any court from denying fair hearing to a party likely to be affected by final decision of the court.” Justice Saulawa, held that the action of the court violated the legal doctrine of audi altarem partem.
“The tenets of natural Justice entails that a party ought to be heard prior to determination of case against them.” The appellate court also noted that Justice Abang ordered INEC to “immediately” recognise Mr. Ibrahim who was never a party in the suit that culminated to both the June 29 and October 14 judgments.
“The Court below had no jurisdictional competence to make such order. I have no restriction in the circumstance in resolving the second issue equally in favour of the appellant.”
It said that Justice Abang “unilaterally” raised issues that were not included by the plaintiffs; an action it said amounted to “a violent attitudinal disposition to the rule of law.” Besides, the court held that the primary election that was conducted by the State Chapter of the PDP loyal to Modu-Sheriff, which produced Mr. Ibrahim was a nullity, stressing that the law was very clear on which organ of a party should conduct governorship primary elections.
“It is worth reiterating at this point that any primary election by state chapter of a party, be it the PDP or any other party, is undoubtedly, in the eye of the law, an illegal contraption that carries with it no legal or equitable right at all. It is in its entirety a nullity,” the appellate court held. Prior to delivery of the judgment and in reference to the attack on the panel, Justice Saulawa, said the panel was at a time, “subjected to a very intimidating and brow-beating treatment by counsel to the respondents.
“I have most critically appraised the preliminary objection by Nwofor, SAN, and I found that it is most grossly lacking in merit and it is accordingly dismissed.” Also yesterday, the Court of Appeal upheld the appeal filed by the PDP National Caretaker Committee’s chairman, Senator Ahmed Makarfi and secretary, Senator Ben Obi. Delivering the judgment, Justice George Mbaba said that the entire processes filed at the lower court was a fraud.
He decried a situation where a counsel will file a suit and also appear as defendant’s counsel. Prior to the judgment, there was tension in the state over where the pendulum would likely swing, but immediately the news on the Appeal Court ruling, which returned Jegede to the INEC list as the candidate of the party filtered into the state capital, Akure, from Abuja, people trooped out to the streets in excitement and started making calls congratulating one another.
The convoy of the wife of the governor was blocked by the jubilant crowd and she had no choice than to come down from the car to join the procession at the popular Oja Oba market in Akure. Reacting to the judgment, the candidate of the PDP, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede SAN, who dedicated the victory to God and the generality of the people, noted that the past few weeks have been very challenging and trying for him.
Jegede in a statement he personally signed said,” today our mouth is filled with laughter and heart with praise, our resilience paid off and our conviction to this doggedness of purpose has made our case another judicial precedence in the country.” He said,” Beloved people of Ondo State and believer in out noble course there is no doubt that the past few weeks have been very challenging and trying times for us as we contended with anti-democratic and evil forces who tried to subvert the will of God and the mandate of the people freely given to us.
“It was tortuous journey that tested our faith in God and our conviction in the refreshingly different days ahead of us as we were taunted and harassed by hired propagandists while we tenaciously forged ahead, we submitted our grievances to the court despite the contraband and manipulation of those who are opposed to democracy. “We insisted we explore all legal means in our avowed belief in the rule of law and judiciary.
Today our mouth is filled with laughter and heart with praise, our resilience paid off and our conviction to this doggedness of purpose has made our case another judicial precedence in the country,” he said. However, Clement Faboyede, the State factional chairman of the PDP said INEC should postponed the election adding that the executive under him as not received proper briefing from the electoral body.
In a related development, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC in compliance with the the judgment of the Court of Appeal, the has reinstated Mr Eyitayo Jegede SAN, as the authentic candidate of the PDP, in Saturday‘governorship election in Ondo State.
This was confirmed in a statement last night by the Commission in Abuja signed by its Secretary, Mrs Augusta Ojakwu, The Commission stated that the action was “in compliance with the judgment delivered today (Wednesday) 23th November 2016 by the Court at Appeal, Abuja Division.
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