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It is funny that Nigerian political parties don’t learn from precedents that the courts have laid down; on how they should manage and administer their affairs with decorum orderliness and in
accordance with the dictates of the rule of law and due process.
Why would the PDP brazenly disobey a court order issued by the High Court restraining a Caretaker Committee (which the court has declared illegal) from conducting primaries to nominate its candidates for the general election?
The law is that a court order must be obeyed no matter how you feel about it.
A court order stands till it is set aside by the court that issued or or an appellate court.
The law also says that if a party disobeys a court order the court should shut its door against that party.
The Consequences of the Refusal or Failure or Neglect of the PDP to obey a Court order that its Caretaker Committee should not conduct Primaries to nominate its candidates is what is responsible for the debacle that played out in Plateau State.
You would recall that in 2019 the same scenario was enacted in Zamfara State when APC lost all its elected positions because the Party broke into two irreconcilable factions namely Abdul Aziz Yari and Senator Kabiru Marafa Factions.
These two factions presented two lists of candidates to INEC and INEC became confused and consequently refused to accept the list from these two facts.
The Abdul Aziz Yari faction had held its primary election.
Subsequently, it was presented to the National Headquarters of APC a list of candidates elected from the primaries conducted but was refused.
The Abdul Aziz faction forwarded the list to INEC which accepted it but refused to process it.
INEC then used the sledgehammer on APC and banned APC from fielding a list of the names of its candidates for failure to comply with the deadlines stipulated by the Electoral Act.
What ensued was the filing of different lawsuits by the two irrevocable factions of Zamfara State in different courts in a fight to finish posturing.
The Abdul Aziz Yari faction filed an action at the Zamfara High Court challenging the decision of INEC to refuse the list of candidates submitted and the banning of the Party from participating in the general election.
On the other, Senator Kabiru Marafa’s faction approached the Federal High Court to challenge the validity of the primaries conducted by the Abdul Aziz Yari faction.
On 29 January 2019, the Zamfara High Court and the Federal High Court delivered their judgments.
The Federal High Court held that the APC did not conduct a valid primary election.
It ordered INEC not to accept the list of names submitted by INEC for the 2019 general elections.
On the other hand, the Zamfara State High Court held that the primaries conducted by the Abdul Aziz Yari faction were valid and ordered INEC to accept the list of names submitted by it to enable it to participate in the 2019 general elections.
Both parties filed appeal and counter-appeal concerning the two judgments delivered by the Federal High Court and Zamfara High Court respectively.
On 21 February 2029, the Court of Appeal Abuja delivered its judgment and ordered INEC to accept the list of candidates presented by Abdul Aziz Yari’s faction.
INEC complied with the Order issued by the Court of Appeal Abuja and allowed APC to participate in the general elections.
This led to the emergence of Idris as the APC governorship candidate to face Bello Mutawalle of the PDP.
Senator Kabiru Marafa’s faction of APC continued with its case at the Court of Appeal Sokoto.
On 19 March 2019, the Court of Appeal Sokoto delivered its judgment nullifying the primaries conducted by Abdul Aziz Yari’s faction of APC.
It also declared that all the election results won by candidates produced by the Abdul Aziz Yari faction in the 2019 general elections were invalid.
The APC national headquarters in a panicky move filed an appeal in the Supreme Court seeking recognition of the judgment of the Zamfara State High Court in favour of the Abdul Aziz Yari faction.
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and held that the Primaries conducted by the APC Zamfara State were void.
The Supreme Court further held the primaries conducted by the Abdul Aziz faction of APC Zamfara State were held in violation of the APC Constitution, the Electoral Act and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.
The Supreme Court held that all the votes cast by the electorate in Zamfara State for the Governorship, National and State Assemblies were wasted votes.
The Supreme Court ordered that all the candidates presented by the Party that took second position in the general elections and met the required constitutional spread should be declared the winner.
Consequently, INEC declared PDP candidates as the winner of the general election in Zamafara State and proceeded to issue certificates of recognition to them.
This is how APC lost Xamfara State in the 2019 general elections.
One would have thought the ugly and sad experience suffered by APC in 2019 would guide PDP when the confusion and lawlessness engulfed its Plateau State chapter in 2023.
In this case who is to take the blame?
Volenti non-fit injuria(to a willing person, it is not wrong).
@ Okoi Obono-Obla
Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article is strictly that of the author, Okoi Obono-Obla and does not represent TheLumineNews or its agent
