Court Stops C’River Governorship Election

High Court sittingA Federal
in Abuja Monday restrained
the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC)
from going ahead with
Saturday’s governorship
election in Cross River
State.Abdul KafaratiJustice
issued the order following
an application filed and
argued ex-parte by Mr.
Nmerengwa Alozie, counsel
to the All Nigeria Peoples
Party (ANPP) and its
governorship candidate, Dr.
Obol
Patrick Okomiso, who
are the plaintiffs.
However, INEC still has a
chance to salvage the
situation as Justice Kafarati
abridged the time for the
commission to appear
before him to defend the
suit.
He ordered INEC to come to
court on Thursday,
February 28th for its
defence.
The plaintiffs had argued
that INEC did not have the
power to reschedule the
election to less than 48
days to the initial date
fixed for the election.
According to them, the
election had been earlier
scheduled by INEC to hold
on April 14, 2012 in view of
the mandatory timetable set
by the Electoral Act for
submission of names and
addresses of party
candidates for that election.
They argued that INEC had
no legal justification
whatsoever to bring
forward the date for the
said election.
They said: “Apart from the
inconvenience to the
parties of suddenly
shortening the period they
had already taken for
granted as available for
their preparations for the
election, the abridgment of
time is ultra vires, null and
void and would be a ground
for nullifying
the election, if
conducted.”
The plaintiffs had filed the
application asking for an
order of interim injunction
restraining INEC from
proceeding to conduct the
election into the office of
Governor of Cross River
State on the 25th of
February, 2012 pending the
hearing
and determination
of the motion on notice filed
in these proceedings.
They also asked the court
for an order directing INEC
to maintain status quo ante
lite, that is as at 15th of
February, 2012, to refrain
from taking further action
or steps regarding the
revised timetable for the
conduct of the election into
the office of governor of
Cross River State of
Nigeria pending the hearing
and determination of the
motion on notice filed on the
15th
of February 2012 in
these proceedings.
In an affidavit attached to
the application, ANPP said
that INEC’s reason that it
brought the election
forward because of the
judgment of the Supreme
Court which removed five
state governors from office
was not tenable in law.
“That the Supreme Court
judgment did not place any
constraint on INEC to
abridge or tamper with the
timetable it had set on the
11th August 2011 for the
governorship election in
Cross River State nor has
it created any situation
which the 1999 Constitution
cannot cope with as the
governor and his deputy
duly vacated their office
pursuant to the judgment
and the Speaker of the
House of Assembly has
taken over as governor
pursuant to Section 191(2)
of the Constitution,” the
affidavit added.
They further explained that
the
Speaker, under the
constitution, could act as
governor for a period of 90
days
until elections were
held and a new governor
sworn in and there was no
need for INEC to conduct an
election immediately.
They said that INEC would
not lose anything if the
elections were held on 14th
of April, 2012 as earlier
scheduled.
“That on the other hand,
the applicants will be
prejudiced if the election is
brought forward to the 25th
of
February 2012 as INEC
now proposes, because the
validity of the nomination of
the 2nd plaintiff will be
jeopardised by non-
compliance with section
31(1) of the Electoral Act
2010,” the affidavit added.