LEADERSHIP
— Jan 30, 2016 4:18 am | Leave a comment
The Supreme Court yesterday nullified the mandates of the two remaining senators in the upper chamber of the National Assembly from Anambra State.
All the senators from Anambra State, including the earlier sacked Uche Ekwunife, emerged on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Those removed from the upper chamber on Friday by the Supreme Court were Senators Stella Oduah and Andy Uba.
To replace them, according to the apex court, are Chris Uba (Anambra South) and Annie Okonkwo (Anambra North).
In a unanimous judgment by a five-man panel of Justices that was delivered on Friday, the Supreme Court nullified the election that produced the entire contingent of federal lawmakers from Anambra State.
In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Inyang Okoro, the highest court in the land set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal Division in Abuja, delivered on February 16, 2015, while it upheld the decision of the Abuja Federal High Court that was delivered on December 15, 2014.
It would be recalled that the Anambra State Executive Committee of the PDP led by Ejike Oguebego had dragged the PDP, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Chukwudi Okasia-led faction of the PDP to court over the validity of the state’s party leadership.
During subsistence and pendency of the legal battle over the party leadership, the PDP went ahead to constitute an Adhoc Committee to oversee the party’s affairs.
After full trial and hearing of the parties, Justice Evoh Chukwu of the Federal High Court held that the purported Adhoc Committee (Chukwudi Akasia-led State Executive Committee) that was set up by the PDP during the pendency of the suit was “illegal, null and void.”
The trial court also ordered that any delegate list or nominated candidates that emanated from the primaries conducted by the Akasia-led committee (which produced Odua and Uba) during the pendency of the suit was “illegal, invalid, unconstitutional and an abuse of court process and cannot be used for any purpose.
The trial judge, Justice Chukwu further restrained INEC from accepting nominated candidates that emerged from the Akasia-led committee of the PDP.
But delivering its judgment on the matter, the apex court noted that facts leading to the appeal were a product of the struggle for the soul of the PDP in Anambra State.
In dissecting the judgment of the appellate court, the Supreme Court took a swipe at the court for failing to protect the sanctity of the trial court’s orders which restrained the respondents (PDP, Akasia-led Committee and INEC) from taking further steps while the matter was in court.
“A Court of law has the jurisdiction to protect its own judgment from being ridiculed or disparaged as done by the 1st respondent (PDP) in this case. Any disobedience to court’s order is a serious contempt and courts of law must protect themselves from being maligned or ridiculed,” the apex court held.
On the issue of jurisdiction and commencement of the suit by an originating summons by the appellants (Ejike Oguebego and Chuks Okoye) before the trial court, the Supreme Court held that Originating Summons was properly used to commence the suit.
It equally held that the trial court had jurisdiction to have entertained the suit, since the case involved a federal agency such as INEC.
The apex court explained that there was no doubt that the PDP ignored the subsisting order of the trial and set up a caretaker committee for Anambra State PDP in brazen contempt of the court.
In allowing the appeal, the Supreme Court held: “Having resolved all the five issues in favour of the appellants, I hold that there is merit in this appeal which is hereby allowed.
Meanwhile, Andy Uba in a statement from his office in Abuja said he was not a party to the suit, adding that his name or his seat was not mentioned at any stage of the suit which commenced in 2014 at the Federal High Court.
He added that the issue in contention in the case decided by the Supreme Court was on the chairmanship of the Anambra State chapter of the PDP and the constitution of its State Executive Committee.
He noted that the wrong and false interpretation being given to the verdict of the apex court was a calculated mischief planned by certain politicians in Anambra State who are simply interested in confusing issues.
“They are just raising a false alarm. National Assembly election matters do not get to the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeal is the terminal point. Also, there are no pre-election issue concerning my candidacy. Those who think they can get through the back door what our party members and the electorate did not give them are the ones giving this wrong interpretation to the verdicts delivered today.
“I have directed my lawyers to engage the Supreme Court so as to clear this mischievous information being peddled by some politicians”, Uba said.
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