Politics
Kogi APC Guber Primary: Adeyemi Loses, Heads To A’Court
The legal battle over the governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State has shifted to the Abuja division of the Court of Appeal where the former lawmaker representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Senator Smart Adeyemi, is seeking the nullification of the exercise.
His decision to go to the appellate court followed the judgment of an Abuja High Court which affirmed the disputed primary election that produced Ahmed Ododo as the candidate of the party for the governorship election fixed for November, 2023.
Justice James Omotosho, in a judgment he delivered on Wednesday, held that Adeyemi did not prove his allegation that Ododo was not lawfully nominated by the APC.
The plaintiff had in his suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/556/2023, sought the cancellation of the primary election on the premise that it was not validly conducted.
He prayed the court to declare as illegal, unlawful and invalid, the direct primary election said to have been conducted by the APC, through which Ododo emerged as a candidate for the governorship poll.
Adeyemi told the court that Ododo was handpicked as flagbearer of the party by the outgoing Governor of the State, Yahaya Bello, in gross violation of Section 177 of the 1999 Constitution, Sections 29 and 84 of the Electoral Act as well as Article 20 of the Constitution of the APC.
He, therefore, urged the court to declare the purported primary election as invalid and to issue an order, compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, not to recognise Ododo as the bonafide candidate of the party for the governorship election.
Besides, the aggrieved governorship aspirant, through his team of lawyers led by Dr Adekunle Ottitoju, prayed the court to order the APC to conduct a fresh primary election and to give all aspirants equal opportunity as prescribed by the Electoral Act, 2022.
However, in his judgment, Justice Omotosho held that the plaintiff did not by way of credible evidence, establish his allegation.
The court held that contrary to the position of the plaintiff, there was evidence that the primary election was validly held and monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
It held that the allegations the plaintiff raised in the suit were criminal in nature and therefore ought to be proved beyond every reasonable doubt.
Justice Omotosho held that the plaintiff failed to discharge the burden of proof that was placed on him by the law.
“There is enough proof before this court to show that indeed a direct primary election of the APC held in Kogi State on April 14,” the court held, adding that Senator Adeyemi had after he lost in the election, lodged a complaint before an Appeals Committee that was constituted by the APC.
The court held that evidence before it showed that Adeyemi failed to appear before the Committee to prove his allegations.
The court said it found no reason to invalidate the outcome of the primary election.
Consequently, it dismissed the suit as lacking in merit.
However, reacting to the judgement, Senator Adeyemi, through his counsel, said he would take the case to the appellate court.
He insisted that the trial court failed to properly evaluate the proof of evidence that was placed before it by the parties, insisting that there were inconsistencies in the report that the INEC and affidavit tendered that the APC deposed.
Adeyemi alleged that whereas INEC claimed that option A4 mode was adopted for the primary election it monitored, the APC told the court that the election was through secret ballot.
The former lawmaker had in a 35-paragraph affidavit he filed in support of his originating summons, told the court that he obtained nomination and expression of interest forms from the party at the cost of N50 million, following which he was screened and cleared to participate in the primary election that was slated for April 14, 2023.
Adeyemi told the court that while he waited at his constituency to cast his vote along with his people, he was shocked when information came to him that the purported primary election had been conducted and a purported winner declared.
He alleged that Governor Bello had initially asked all other aspirants to step down for his preferred candidate, Ododo, who is from the same zone as him.
The plaintiff told the court that by political arrangement, it ought to be the turn of Kogi West, which had not produced a governor in the history of the state.
More so, Adeyemi, alleged that Governor Bello manipulated the whole process to ensure that his first cousin from the same polling unit, from the same ward, from the same local government and from the same tribe, Mr Ododo, emerged as the governorship candidate of the party, against the laid down rules and regulations.
He told the court that Governor Bello had among other things, presided over a panel where figures were allotted in favour of Ododo.
He further claimed that the governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, who was supposed to preside over and announce the winner of the primary election, left Kogi state in annoyance so as to dissociate himself from the outcome of what they described as a shambolic primary election.
Adeyemi prayed the court to nullify the governorship primary election and order the APC to conduct a fresh one.
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed, through a second reading, a bill seeking to retain immunity for the Office of the President and remove immunity from the Vice President, the Governors and the Deputy Governors.
The bill was one of the 42 considered and passed through the second reading stage during plenary presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Mr Benjamin Kalu, in Abuja.
Sponsored by Hon. Solomon Bob (Rivers PDP), the bill is seeking the amendment of Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution to guard against abuse of office and to ensure transparency in governance.
The long title of the proposed legislation read: “A Bill for an Act to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to qualify the immunity conferred on the President, remove the immunity conferred on the Vice President, the Governors and their deputies, in order to curb corruption, eradicate impunity and enhance accountability in public office and for related matters.”
Key amendments include changes to Section 308 of the Constitution, which currently grants immunity to the president, vice president, governors, and deputy governors while in office.
The proposed bill will amend subsection 3 to ensure that immunity only applies to the President and the vice president when acting as President under Section 145 of the Constitution.
Additionally, a new subsection 4 will be introduced to make the immunity clause inapplicable if the office holder is acting in an unofficial capacity, engaging in actions beyond the powers of the office, or involved in criminal conduct.
“The bill seeks to foster transparency and strengthen the fight against corruption by making public officials more accountable for their actions, both in and out of office.”
“Section 308 of the principal Act is amended by:(a) substituting a new subsection (3) as follows: “(3) This section applies to a person holding the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Vice President only when acting as President, in line with Section 145 of this Constitution.
Creating sub section (4) thereto as follows:”(4) The foregoing provisions of this section shall be inapplicable where the person to whom this section applies is acting in an unofficial capacity or where the conduct of the person is beyond the powers of his office or the conduct is criminal in nature.
“This Bill may be cited as the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) Act 2024.
The bill is currently awaiting further debate and consideration by the National Assembly.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has written to notify Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the senator representing Kogi Central, about the petition by constituents seeking her recall from the national assembly.
INEC said it has also received the contact details of the petitioners.
“Pursuant to section 69 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, I write to notify you of the receipt of a petition from representatives of registered voters in your constituency seeking your recall from the senate.
“The notification is in line with the provisions of clause 2 (a) of the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024.
“This letter is also copied to the presiding officer of the senate and simultaneously published on the commission’s website. Thank you”, the letter read.
The letter was signed by Ruth Oriaran Anthony, secretary to the commission.
Meanwhile, in a statement issued on Wednesday, INEC said it has now received the updated contact details from representatives of petitioners seeking to recall the senator.
In the statement, Sam Olumekun, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education, said a letter notifying the senator of the petition has been delivered to her official address, copied to the senate presiding officer, and published on the commission’s website.
“The next step is to scrutinise the list of signatories submitted by the petitioners to ascertain that the petition is signed by more than one half (over 50%) of the registered voters in the constituency. This will be done in the coming days.
“The outcome, which will be made public, shall determine the next step to be taken by the Commission. We once again reassure Nigerians that the process will be open and transparent”, Mr Olumekun said.
Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan had recently accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexually harassing her.
The allegation came in the wake of seating arrangement related altercation between Senator. Akpabio and the Kogi Central senator at the red chamber
She was subsequently suspended from the senate for six months for “gross misconduct” over the incident.
The constituents behind the recall move also accused her of “gross misconduct, abuse of office, and deceitful behaviour”.
The senator has denied wrongdoing and called the recall effort a “coordinated suppression” of her voice.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the second reading of a bill to upgrade the Lagos State 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) to full-fledged Local Government Areas (LGAs ).
The bill, was sponsored by James Faleke, Babajimi Benson, Enitan Badru, and 19 other lawmakers.
The bill is titled “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) to Accommodate the Thirty-Seven (37) Development Area Councils of Lagos State as Full-Fledged Local Government Areas, Increasing the Total Number of Local Government Areas in the Federation to Eight Hundred and Eleven (811), and for Related Matters (HB. 1498),”
Once fully enacted, Nigeria’s total number of LGAs will rise from 774 to 811, with Lagos overtaking Kano and Katsina, which currently have 44 and 34 LGAs, respectively.
Proponents of the bill argue that granting full LGA status to the LCDAs would bring governance closer to the people. The 37 LCDAs were created by President Bola Tinubu in 2003 when he was governor of Lagos State.
However, it’s worth noting that the Lagos State House of Assembly has been working on a bill to replace the 37 LCDAs with newly designated administrative areas.