Wale Igbintade
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the House of Representatives in Ajeromi/Ifelodun federal constituency, Lagos State, Mr. Francis Bartholomew Chima, has asked a Federal High Court in Lagos to decline jurisdiction in a suit filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) seeking his disqualification in the 2023 general election.
APC and his candidate, Mr. Paul Adeboye Kalejaiye, who is also vying for the same seat, have dragged Chima before the court, challenging his emergency as the PDP candidate in the coming general election on the ground that the party’s primary election, which produced him, was not in conformity with the Section 84(13) of the new Electoral Act.
APC and Kalejaiye in their suit marked: FHC/L/CS/1316/2022, filed by their counsel, Lawal Pedro (SAN), listed Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the PDP as Chima’s co-respondents.
Lawal, while moving his clients’ motion last Wednesday, urged the court for the following reliefs: ‘A declaration that by virtue of the provision of Section 84 (1) of the Electoral Act 2022, the second respondent (PDP), when seeking to nominate a candidate to contest against the applicants in the 2023 general election for the Ajeromi Ifelodun federal constituency of Lagos State seat in the National Assembly, has an obligation to hold primary election for aspirants from its party to elect a candidate.
‘A declaration that by the virtue of the provisions of Section 84 (13) of the Electoral Act 2022, the nomination of the third respondent (Chima) as a candidate of the second respondent (PDP) to contest against the applicants in the 2023 general election for the Ajeromi Ifelodun federal constituency of Lagos State seat in the National Assembly is null and void, for failure of the second respondent to comply with the provisions of Sub Section 1 of Section 84 of the Act to conduct primary election for his nomination as a candidate.
‘A declaration that the second respondent has no valid candidate to contest against the applicants in the 2023 general election for the Ajeromi Ifelodun federal constituency in Lagos State seat in the National Assembly.
“A declaration that the third respondent (Chime) is not entitled and has no right to contest against the applicants in the 2023 general election for the Ajeromi Ifelodun federal constituency Lagos State seat in the National Assembly. And a declaration that by virtue of the provisions of Section 84(13) of the Electoral Act 2022, the first respondent (INEC) has a public duty and obligation not to include the name of the third respondent as a candidate of the second respondent to contest against the applicants the 2023 general election for the Ajeromi Ifelodun federal constituency of Lagos State seat in the National Assembly.
‘An order of perpetual injunction restraining the first respondent, its servants, agents and howsoever from recognising or including the name of the third respondent as a candidate to contest against the applicants in the 2023 general election for the Ajeromi Ifelodun federal constituency of Lagos State seat in the National Assembly.”
However, the PDP candidate, in his preliminary objections to the suit, filed and argued by his team of lawyers led by Mr. Emeka Ozoani and Professor Joseph Abugu, both SANs, asked the court to dismiss the suit for being frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of court process, as the same have been caught by the limitation of time within which to file pre-election matters under Section 285(9) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.
The two senior lawyers, aside asking the court to dismiss the suit having been caught by statute of limitation, also asked the court to decline jurisdiction in entertaining it and to award a substantial cost of N10 million against the APC and Kalejaiye.
The PDP candidate in his affidavit in support of the preliminary objections stated that he was an aspirant in the INEC’s primary election scheduled for May 23 and 24, 2022, in the federal constituencies in Lagos State to select and nominate the first defendant’s candidate for the Ajeromi/Ifelodun federal constituency of Lagos State into the House of Representatives election in 2023.
He stated that upon his expression of interest to serve in the Federal House of Representations, he purchased, filled and submitted the requite Expression of Interest form as well as the nomination form issued by the INEC for the Ajeromi/ Ifelodun federal constituency. And he was duly screened by a panel constituted by the INEC and issued a Certificate of Provisional Clearance to contest in the primaries supervised by INEC, for the purpose of selecting the candidate for the constituency.
Chima stated that he duly completed and submitted to the first defendant, INEC, Form EC 13D: Nomination Form for member, House of Representatives. And that INEC scheduled three days-May 22, 23 and 24, 2022-for the conduct of all its primaries into the federal constituencies in Lagos State.
He stated that the said primaries election was supervised and closely monitored by the INEC’s national, state and local government officers, representatives of the Nigerian Police, Department of State Security (DSS) and the members of the press. And that the said primary election was held and conducted in a peaceful and serene environment devoid of any scintilla of rancor, conflict or violence. It was accordingly adjudged by all party faithful and the delegates to be the fairest and freest primary elections in Ajeromi/Ifelodun federal constituency of Lagos State in recent times.
In a 36-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Chima, the third respondent, he listed other candidates who participated in the primary as Dr. Oladipupo Diriwari, Hon. Rita Orji Odichi, and Mrs. Ezeude Emilia.
He averred that Orji voluntary withdrew from the primaries but nonetheless received some votes from the delegates, noting that even though the plaintiff’s name was in the ballot for the primaries, she had voluntarily withdrawn and was not present at the primaries even though her agents attended.
Chima stated that upon the count of recorded votes, he won the election with 22 votes as opposed to his three contenders who scored as follows: Dr. Diriwari (3 votes); Hon. Rita Orji (4 votes), and Mrs. Ezeude (3 votes), while one vote was voided. The result of the election as recorded in the first defendant’s result sheet with No. 0410 is attached and marked Exhibit EE1.
“I also rely on Certified True Copies of the INEC Monitors Checklist for the primaries as well as the Certified True Copy of the PDP Summary of Results for the primaries in the constituency, both here attached as Exhibits EE2 and EE3,” Chima stated.
Meanwhile, Ozoani, in his arguments before the court, submitted that his client was duly declared the winner of the primaries held on May 23, 2022, by the INEC’s national officers with the attestation of the PDP officers at the state and local government area levels.
He said sequel to his victory, the result of the primaries with his name as duly elected candidate was forwarded by the INEC to the PDP.
Ozoani added that the submission of his name by the PDP to the INEC was not an error but the result of a fairly won contest whereas the plaintiff lost the primaries.
According to him, “The PDP rightfully submitted his name and particulars to the INEC as the lawful winner of the primaries of the PDP held on May 23, 2022, into the Ajeromi/Ifelodun federal constituency of Lagos State.”
He further submitted that the only valid and subsisting primaries of the PDP in Ajeromi/Ifelodun federal constituency was the one held on May 23, 2022, wherein the third defendant won with an overwhelming majority, hence the INEC and PDP duly accepted that he was the candidate elected to contest the federal elections in 2023 from the Ajeromi/Ifelodun federal constituency.
