Judgement has been reserved to a later date in an appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the judgement of a lower court declaring Mr Michael Enyong as candidate of the party in the 2023 governorship elections.
The appeal is against the Judgment of the Abuja Judicial Division of the Federal High Court delivered on January 20, 2023 in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1295/2022.
The PDP told the Appeal Court that Pastor Umo Eno remains its validly nominated candidate and his nomination had also been validated by the same Appeal Court last year.
The PDP had argued that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain and adjudicate upon the Enyong’s suit which is against Section 285(9) of the Constitution of the country.
Represented by Paul Usoro, SAN, Barr Uwemedimo Nwoko, SAN and others, the PDP also reasoned that the Appellant was not served with the 1st Respondent’s Originating Summons and Hearing Notices for the Lower Court’s proceedings, and that the Lower Court had no jurisdiction to entertain and adjudicate upon the 1st Respondent’s Suit.
Enyong in his suit had told the lower court that the use of elected ad-hoc delegates was declared illegal by the status quo ante bellum order of the trial court that was made on 18 May 2022 in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/606/2022 in consequence.
He also claimed that he used only statutory delegates for the governorship primary that allegedly produced him.
But PDP appealed against the decision of the Lower Court to the effect “that the Plaintiff has successfully proved his case on the preponderance of evidence” and validated the purported illegality of using ad-hoc delegates for the primaries that produced Pastor Eno as the candidate of the party.
The PDP told the court that the decision at the lower court was reached ‘per incuriam’ given the earlier decisions of the appeal court, that validated the Appellant’s Akwa Ibom State primaries that were conducted with the use of ad-hoc delegates only and to the exclusion of statutory delegates.
The party also maintained that the gubernatorial primary from which Pastor Eno emerged as the Appellant’s governorship candidate for Akwa Ibom States was conducted on 25 May 2022;and the “Lower Court was bereft of jurisdiction to entertain and adjudicate over the 1st Respondent’s Suit being statute-barred at the time it was commenced.”
This, according to the Party, makes the judgment of the Lower Court consequently a nullity and as such ought to be set aside by the appellate court.
The court subsequently adjourned to a later date after also taking preliminary objections from the defendant.
