…Awards N3m cost against Nwajuba
 
The Appeal Court division sitting in Abuja yesterday affirmed the judgement of the Federal High Court delivered by Justice Z.B Abubakar on the December, 23 2022 dismissed a suit filed by Emeka Nwajuba against the presidential candidate of All-Progressives Congress, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
 
Delivering judgement yesterday, the three-man panel of judges, dismissed Nwajuba’s appeal for lacking the jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
 

The appeal Court affirmed the lower court’s decision that the suit was filed outside the statutorily mandated and allowed period of 14 days.
 
Nwajuba had in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1114/2022 filed against the party (APC),  the  presidential candidate, Tinubu and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), prayed the court to declare that the mandatory provisions of section 90(3) of the 2022 Electoral Act, 2022 was not complied with by the APC (2nd Defendant) in nominating and submitting the 1st Defendant (Senator Bola Tinubu) as its presidential candidate to the 3rd Defendant (INEC) for the 2023 Presidential Election.
 
He has prayed the court for an order of declaration that the combined reading of section 90(3) of the 2022 Electoral Act and Article 22(1) of the 2nd defendant’s  Constitution, (APC constitution), the expression of interest and nomination fees of N100 million each paid to the party (2nd Defendant) by both the plaintiff (Nwajuba) , the 1st Defendant (Tinubu)  and other presidential aspirants, is money and monetary contribution as envisaged in the Act.
 
He prayed the court for an order among other orders for, “A declaration that the N100 million fees paid by the Plaintiff, 1st Defendant and other Presidential aspirants to the 2nd Defendant as expression of interest and nomination forms is the first compulsory step and  first qualification to participate in the 2nd Defendants’ primary election and is part of the process to conduct presidential primary election by the 2nd defendant.
  
“A declaration that the plaintiff being the only candidate, who scored vote at the 2nd defendant’s primary election and who provided source of identification of his monetary contribution in compliance with section 90(3) of the electoral Act 2022  where others did not, is the only qualified contestant and his vote at the primary election is the only lawful and valid vote scored at the convention and hereby declared candidate of the APC for the 2023 Presidential Election.”
 
Nwajuba therefore prayed the court for a perpetual order of injunction, restraining, barring and prohibiting INEC from accepting the candidacy of the Tinubu nominated in breach of the Law.
 
“An order of mandating  the 3rd defendant to perform its statutory duty imposed on it in section 84(13) of the electoral Act, 2022 to immediately expunge the name of the 1st  Defendant from the list of candidate for the 2023 Presidential Election and to exclude the 1st defendant in the 2023 Presidential election.
  
“An order returning the plaintiff to the 3rd defendant as the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on the grounds that the plaintiffs’ nomination met the requirements of the Provisions of section 90(3) of the electoral Act, 2022”
 
However, in defending the suit, counsel to the party, Mr. Babatunde Ogala (SAN) filed a its’ Memorandum of Conditional Appearance, a Notice of Preliminary Objection and a Counter-Affidavit with Written Addresses.
 
Ogala preliminary objection was premised on the grounds that the suit was statute barred.
 
He argued that proper parties, presidential aspirants of the party were not joined. “That the suit was premature by virtue of the provisions of section 90(4) of the Electoral Act. And that the suit constituted an abuse of Court Process.”
 
The lower court while delivering judgment on the preliminary objection agreed with Ogala’s argument that the plaintiffs action was statute barred by the provisions of section 285(9) of the 1999 Constitution and dismissed the suit.
 
Aggrieved by the decision of the lower court,  Emeka Nwajuba (Appellant) challenged the decision and filed an appeal.
 
However, the court of appeal in a judgment, yesterday dismissed the appeal and affirmed the decision of the trial Court.
 
It held that: “the lower court rightly held that it lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit as the suit was filed outside the statutorily mandated and allowed period of 14 days. Appeals are by way of rehearing and the lower court having being robbed of jurisdiction, the court of Appeal lacks the jurisdiction to adjudicate.
  
“The Appeal is dismissed as the court of Appeal lacks the jurisdiction to entertain same, the suit at the lower court having being filed outside the 14 days of the occurrence of the event, action or decision complained of.
   
“The persuasion that this court should overturn the Supreme Court as stated in Okechuckwu v INEC will not succeed this court being an intermediary court. The decision is binding on even the Supreme Court until set aside, more so when same was delivered by the current CJN.
  
“Cost of One million Naira is awarded against the appellant in favour of the respondents each. The Appeal is lacking in merit and is hereby dismissed.”