The D-37 group has rejected the appeal court Judgement sacking Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang.
The group in a statement jointly issued by Chairman, Sen. Victor Isa Kassem Oyofo and Secretary, Dr. Alex Ter Adum released to newsmen Tuesday, said the appeal court erred in its judgement.
They said “so we find this Court of Appeal judgement on the Plateau inconsistent with the verdicts of the court on similar matters it has handled or is handling in this circle of election litigations.”
They disclosed that similar to Supreme Court on Peter Obi/LP v Bola Tinubu/APC and Atiku Abubakar/PDP v Bola Tinubu/APC pre-election matters are supposed to have ended
“The settled position of election jurisprudence in Nigeria today, arising from the recent judgement of the Supreme Court on Peter Obi/LP v Bola Tinubu/APC and Atiku Abubakar/PDP v Bola Tinubu/APC is that the issue of nomination/sponsorship of candidates by political parties for general elections is a pre-election matter that can only be ventilated at the High Court within 14 days by only members of the party affected by the matter and not any other person(s).
“We therefore find it strange that whereas the Court of Appeal has resolved all petitions bothering on the nomination/sponsorship and qualification to contest election affecting the APC and it’s candidates by holding that such petitions are pre-election matters and must be dismissed for been statute barred and incompetent, the same court overruled itself and the Supreme Court in the Plateau appeals.”
D-37 further disagreed the position of the court which has held that PDP candidates in Plateau must lose their seats because no valid congresses were held in Plateau to nominate candidates for elections because the party ignored the order of the court to re conduct congresses in Plateau
“With due respect, we disagree with the Court of Appeal. Congresses to nominate candidates were validly held in Plateau State where HE Gov. Caleb Muftwang emerged unchallenged as the sole gubernatorial candidate of the PDP.
“The judgements, which were relied upon by the Tribunal and the Court of Appeal to arrive at its erroneous verdicts relate to congresses to elect State party Executives and not candidates for general elections.
“The State Congress that nominated HE Gov. Muftwang was conducted in May 2022 and no member of the PDP in Plateau challenged that Ress or other congresses that produced the various candidates of the PDP for the other elections.
“So on what basis can anyone impeach the nomination of HE Gov. Caleb Muftwang who was validly sponsored by the PDP as its gubernatorial candidate for Plateau and the other PDP candidates? Granted but not conceding, can the defect in the conduct of State congresses to elect State party Executives not candidates held in 2020 be used to disqualify candidates validly nominated at nomination congresses validly held in 2022?”
The D-37 therefore calls on ” Supreme Court to take a critical look at the new EA 2022, which dis-entitles party executives from participating in National, State, Zonal, LGA and Ward congresses to nominate candidates for elections and remedy the travesty of justice on the Plateau before grave harm is done to our democracy.”
*THE D-37 REJECTS THE JUDGEMENT OF THE COURT OF APPEAL SACKING HE. GOV. CALEB MUFTWANG OF PLATEAU STATE.*
The settled position of election jurisprudence in Nigeria today, arising from the recent judgement of the Supreme Court on Peter Obi/LP v Bola Tinubu/APC and Atiku Abubakar/PDP v Bola Tinubu/APC is that the issue of nomination/sponsorship of candidates by political parties for general elections is a pre-election matter that can only be ventilated at the High Court within 14 days by only members of the party affected by the matter and not any other person(s).
We therefore find it strange that whereas the Court of Appeal has resolved all petitions bothering on the nomination/sponsorship and qualification to contest election affecting the APC and it’s candidates by holding that such petitions are pre-election matters and must be dismissed for been statute barred and incompetent, the same court overruled itself and the Supreme Court in the Plateau appeals.
The Court has held that PDP candidates in Plateau must lose their seats because no valid congresses were held in Plateau to nominate candidates for elections because the party ignored the order of the court to re conduct congresses in Plateau.
With due respect, we disagree with the Court of Appeal. Congresses to nominate candidates were validly held in Plateau State where HE Gov. Caleb Muftwang emerged unchallenged as the sole gubernatorial candidate of the PDP.
The judgements, which were relied upon by the Tribunal and the Court of Appeal to arrive at its erroneous verdicts relate to congresses to elect State party Executives and not candidates for general elections.
The State Congress that nominated HE Gov. Muftwang was conducted in May 2022 and no member of the PDP in Plateau challenged that Ress or other congresses that produced the various candidates of the PDP for the other elections. So on what basis can anyone impeach the nomination of HE Gov. Caleb Muftwang who was validly sponsored by the PDP as its gubernatorial candidate for Plateau and the other PDP candidates? Granted but not conceding, can the defect in the conduct of State congresses to elect State party Executives not candidates held in 2020 be used to disqualify candidates validly nominated at nomination congresses validly held in 2022?
For the avoidance of the doubt, under the Electoral Act 2022 What does the State EXCO of any political party have to do with the nomination of candidates for national elections?
This question is pertinent for the following reasons:
1. Candidates to elections conducted by INEC are not sponsored by the State Chapters. They are sponsored by the National Secretariat of all political parties. All such candidates nomination forms are signed by the National Chairman, National Secretary or National Organizing Secretary.
2. The Congresses to nominate candidates are conducted by the National Secretariat not the State Chapters. Indeed by the EA 2022, only adhoc delegates elected at congresses organized by the National Secretariat participate in the congresses to nominate candidates for such national elections. No member of the Plateau State PDP Executives or any other State Executives participated at the congresses because they were/are not delegates.
3. The State Executive Committee of a party only sponsors candidates for the conduct of local government elections conducted by the State Independent Electoral Commissions.
These were the congresses that the Plateau High Court ordered a repeat congress not the State Congress, Zonal and Local Government congresses to nominate candidates for the 2023 general elections held in 2022.
4. Under our extant electoral jurisprudence, nobody except a member of the party can question who a political party nominates as its candidate for election, because the issue of nomination by the plethora of available judicial authorities is the exclusive internal affairs of the party .
So whether or not a party has a state EXCO or not is irrelevant to the nomination of candidates for National Elections.
Most of the mushroom political parties hardly have state structures yet they participate in elections so we find this Court of Appeal judgement on the Plateau inconsistent with the verdicts of the court on similar matters it has handled or is handling in this circle of election litigations.
We have heard some insinuations that ‘ *what is good for the goose is also good for the gander* ‘ a suggestion that PDP benefited from a supposedly similar situation in Zamfara in 2019. We vehemently, reject such a misleading proposition on the basis that the situation in Plateau is different from Zamfara in facts and context.
In Zamfara two factions of the APC led by the then Governor Yari and the other by Sen. Kabir Marafa disputed the outcome of APC State congresses to nominate candidates for the 2019 general elections and submitted two different lists of candidates and litigated amongst themselves to the Supreme Court which voided the two lists presented by the two APC factions. This technically conferred advantage on the PDP.
It’s important to note that:
I. the parties were all members of the APC, so competent to institute the actions;
II. the matters were initiated at the High Court, which is the appropriate forum for commencement of pre-election matters and;
III. the matters were initiated within 14 days of the act complained of.
This is clearly different from the extant scenario in Plateau State, where no member of the party has challenged the PDP nomination congresses in court and no court order exist anywhere invalidating the nomination HE. Gov. Caleb Muftwang or any candidate of the PDP in Plateau State.
As the parties prepare to go on appeal to the Supreme Court, the -37 calls on the Supreme Court to take a critical look at the new EA 2022, which dis-entitles party executives from participating in National, State, Zonal, LGA and Ward congresses to nominate candidates for elections and remedy the travesty of justice on the Plateau before grave harm is done to our democracy.
Sen. Victor Isa Kassem Oyofo
Chairman
Dr. Alex Ter Adum
Secretary
*For and on behalf of D-37*
