A fresh legal battle challenging the nomination and declaration of Captain Idris Wada as the governor of Kogi state commenced on Tuesday before a Federal High Court sitting Abuja.
However, the governor through his counsel, Chris Uche SAN has urged the court to dismiss the suit for being an abuse of court process and that the plaintiff lacked locus to institute such suit.
A former Ward Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party PDP( Odu Ward1) in the state , Yunusa Omagada had through his counsel, Bola Aidi dragged the governor,PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC to court seeking the nullification of the election that brought in Wada as the governor of the state.
In a writ of summon filed by the plaintiff,he is praying the court for a declaration that Wada is not a fit and proper person to be nominated by the PDP to the INEC as its standard bearer for the December 3, Governorship Election in Kogi State.
He also wants a declaration that the nomination of Wada as the Governorship candidate of the PDP to the INEC is mala fide, null, void and of no consequence whatsoever and also a declaration that some information contained in INEC form as deposed to by the 1st Defendant is false.
The plaintiff also wants a declaration that the nomination and consequent purported election of Wada as governor of Kogi is in breach of the provisions of the 1999 constitution as amended.
Omagada therefore prayed the court for an order declaring the candidature of Wada to the PDP in the Kogi State Governorship election of 3rd December, 2011 null and void ab nitio as being in breach of the provisions of Electoral Act and the 1999 Constitution as Amended.
He therefore prayed the court to allow the application.
In his preliminary objection to the suit, Wada challenged the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit submitting that plaintiff did not have any locus standi to institute such suit because he never participated in the election and that he had failed to show how the emergence of Wada as the governor affected him.
He added that the fresh case was a gross abuse of court process adding the suit was the same as the as the one filed by one Abalaka which the court had earlier dismissed.
He further stated that the only difference between the new suit and the one earlier dismissed by the court was the change in the name of of the plaintiff .
Chris Uche also submitted going by the time the suit was filed and the reliefs sought by the plaintiff, it showed clearly that the matter was a post electon one which the court did not have jurisdiction to entertain.
He noted that the suit was filed in March, which was almost four months after the general election was conducted.
He cited Section 285 of the 1999 Constitution which provides that only the election tribunal can entertain any post election matter.
He therefore prayed the court to dismiss the suit in its entirety.
The presiding judge, Justice Adamu Bello adjourned till Febuary 20 for ruling.
