The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, held that the Action Alliance
(AA) is ineligible to present candidates for the gubernatorial elections in
Bayelsa and Kogi states. The party, along with its governorship candidates in
Bayelsa and Kogi, Ebi Peretiemo and Dr. Samuel Alfa respectively, had sued the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the latter’s rejection of
their nominations for the forthcoming elections in the two states.
They contended in the suit that, having complied with the provisions of
85(1) to (2) and section 31(1) of the Electoral Act, INEC could not have
validly rejected the nomination of their candidates for the forthcoming
elections in the two states.
They said they were at the INEC headquarters on September 9, 2019 to
submit Forms CF.001 and CF.002, among other nomination forms for the two
candidates. The plaintiffs added that they were given tag number 15, but an
INEC official in charge of the collection of the forms refused to accept their
forms when it got to their turn. Delivering judgment on the suit on Monday, the
presiding judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo, held that the plaintiffs failed to
provide evidence that they were on the premises of INEC or attempted to submit
their forms before 6:00 p.m. on September 9, 2019 as they claimed. He held that
without providing the said evidence, the party failed to comply with the INEC’s
guidelines that all political parties must have submitted their nomination
forms by 6:00 p.m. of September 9, 2019. He held that: “The first plaintiff
(AA), having not complied with the guidelines and regulations of INEC that it
must submit its candidates’ nomination forms on or before 6:00 p.m. on
September 9, 2019, is ineligible to field candidates in the November 2019
governorship election in Kogi and Bayelsa States. “I hold that their case lacks
merit”.
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