Omon-Julius Onabu asks if the Monday’s ruling by the Appeal Court recognising Sheriff Oborevwori as the Peoples Democratic Party’s gubernatorial candidate for Delta State in the 2023 General election will bring lasting peace to the party in the state
Amid a dense atmosphere of palpable suspense that hung over the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) family in Delta State, the Federal Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Monday, August 29, 2022 gave a verdict on the case brought before it seeking to upturn the July 22, 2022 decision of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on who is the authentic 2023 PDP gubernatorial candidate.
On 22nd July, the Federal High Court, Abuja presided over by Justice Taiwo O. Taiwo faulted the certificates and other documents filed by Sheriff Oborevwori for nomination as gubernatorial candidate of the PDP and directed both the party and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately recognize David Edevbie as the rightful and lawful candidate of the party for the 2023 election.
One of the govenorship aspirants, David Edevbie, had approached the federal high court, challenging the declaration by the party of Sheriff Oborevwori as the party’s governorship candidate based on the Thursday, May 25, 2022 primary election held in the main bowl of the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba. Edevbie was runner-up to Oborevwori at the primary election.
Anyhow, the appellate court, which had on 19th August reserved ruling for a later date, has resolved to set aside the verdict of the lower court, noting that the Federal High Court actually lacked jusrisdiction to adjudicate in the matter brought before it by the applicant (plaintiff), David Edevbie.
Moreover, the appellate court declared that the Applicant approached the high court prematurely, apparently because the applicant (Edevbie) and the high court misconstrued the essence of Section 29 of the Electoral Act.
According to the Court of Appeal, Edevbie should have exercised patience until the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had published the names and relevant particulars of the Delta State PDP governorship candidate for the 2023 election before challenging the veracity or otherwise of Oborevwori’s tendered educational qualifications.
Specifically, the appellate court made several crucial statements of law to justify its decision to set aside the verdict of the lower court as follows:
•Allegations of fraud such as fake documents cannnot be resolved by originating summon;
•Case of forgery cannot be decided by affidavit evidence;
•The Court just held that the suit ought to have been commenced by Writ of Summons and not Originating Summons;
•The Court has also held that since the matter is founded on presentation of forged documents it will require calling of witnesses;
•The Court also held that the cause of action of David Edevbie has not crytsalized for the court to assume jurisdiction;
•Originating summons was wrongly done;
•Lower court had no jurisdiction to entertain the suit;
•Issue One is resolved in favour of the appellant;
•Edevbie’s case was not ripe because Sheriff’s name has not been sent to INEC;
•The Court has further held the right of David Edevbie to approach the court can only accrue when INEC publishes the personal particulars of Sheriff Oborevwori;
•The Court has held that the Federal High Court misconstrued the provisions of Section 29 of the Electoral Act. The reasoning of the Federal High Court on the interpretation of Section 29 is erroneous;
•The judment of the learned trial court is erroneous and is null and void as it was done without jurisdiction.
Oborevwori celebrates
As soon as news of the verdict of the appellate court broke on Monday, Sheriff Oborevwori, who is the Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly, proceeded to celebrate with a thanksgiving service at Government House Chapel, Asaba, saying God has answered his prayer for a victory at the Court of Appeal.
Oborevwori, who was joined by family members, political aides, friends and state government functionaries, said he was dedicating the victory to God, the PDP and the people of the state.
He said, “We have come here to give thanks to God for giving us victory. The victory is for everybody; it is God that gives power and nobody can upturn what God had ordained.
“When we came to the chapel to celebrate the 31st anniversary of the creation of Delta State last Saturday, I promised God that if He gives me victory at the Appeal Court, l shall come to the chapel to give thanks to Him.”
The anxious waiting
The process towards resolving the raging intra-party crisis rocking the Delta State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party was expected to move to a crucial stage with Monday’s verdict considering the deep division created in the party by the question of who is the authentic 2023 gubernatorial candidate of the PDP in the state.
Given the fact that one of the PDP governorship aspirants, Kenneth Gbagi, had refused to go ahead with the primary election but withdrew from the race 24 hours to the exercise, and eventually resigned his membership, speaks volumes about the level of bad blood created by the party candidate’s selection process.
Gbagi had accused the state governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, of not allowing a level playing field but backing a premeditated candidate of his choice.
However, the decision by Edevbie to seek legal redress did not go down well with Oborevwori supporters and even state PDP officials led by its chairman, Kingsley Esiso, as the action earned Edevbie much resentment and animosity, if the series of protest writings in the social and new Media are anything to go by.
The emergence, recently, of a new (reconciliatory?) body, the Delta Unity Group, actually brought to the fore the levels of internal strife within the PDP in Delta State. The existence of the group, which is made up of eminent and emergent leaders of the state PDP cutting across the three senatorial districts, became public knowledge with a press statement it issued on Wednesday, August 17, 2022, wherein it resolved to work for the victory of the party’s gubernatorial candidate and all PDP candidates in the 2023 election.
The communiquè was signed by Hon Peter Onwusanya, former Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly, and Chief Michael Akpobire, former special adviser to the Delta State Governor, as the group’s protem chairman and secretary, respectively.
However, the group called on the national leadership of the PDP to accord Edevbie due recognition as the party’s gubernatorial standard-bearer in Delta State in accordance with the dictates of the nation’s competent court of law and the Rule of Law in the country. The communiquè to that effect was issued on Wednesday, 17th August, 2022 after a meeting it held in Kwale, Ndokwa West Local Government Area.
Hell was then let loose! The resultant bitterness and open hostility that came short of fistfights, was apparently between the Edevbie and Oborevwori supporters. Ironically, although the group had urged the leadership of the PDP at both state and national levels to demonstrate a greater commitment to unity within the party, by both their utterance and action, rather than adopting divide-and-rule tactics which would be detrimental to the interest and electoral fortunes of the party in future, the Delta Unity Group merely ended up exacerbating the no-love-lost situation within the party.
Has the appeal court judgment foreclosed further legal actions?
Expectedly, the PDP in Delta State could now heave a sigh of relief, with the judgment of the appeal court, and settle down to serious job of chatting a victory course for itself in the governorship election in 2023. The party has formed the government in the state since the restoration of democracy in Nigeria in 1999, and the party clearly is not prepared to drop its guards or allow any other political party to fire the winning shot.
However, it could be adduced from the judgment of the appelate court that one of the problems identified with the lower court’s judgment was the fact that Edevbie’s case was a hasty initiative, the applicant/plaintiff having jumped the gun by filing the suit before INEC had published the name and personal particulars of the PDP governorship candidate. “The Court has further held the right of David (Edevbie) to approach the court can only accrue when INEC publishes the personal particulars of Sheriff Oborevwori”, the appeal court judges pointed out.
Edevbie, who is widely known as the candidate of former governor of the state, James Onanefe Ibori, had insisted that his going to court to challenge the primary election victory of Oborevwori, his Urhobo kinsman and the anointed candidate of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, was ultimately in the interest of the PDP.
He argued that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its gubernatorial candidate, Ovie Omo-Agege, were practically lurking in the wings to snatch victory from the PDP via the courts based on the alleged irregularities he had sought to clarify in court, should the PDP win the election with Oborevwori as the candidate.
Therefore, it remains to be seen if Edevbie, or other aspirant(s) who participated in the May 22, 2022 gubernatorial primary election would return to the courts after the expected publication of Sheriff Oborevwori’s name and particulars as the PDP Delta State Governorship Candidate, or whether the party leaders could successfully mid-wife a conciliation process and restore unity in the party. It also remains to be seen if Edevbie would proceed to the Supreme Court.
