ABUJA – The Supreme Court, yesterday, declined
to sack Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom
State from office.
In a judgment yesterday, a seven-man panel of
Justices of the apex court, dismissed an appeal that
sought to annul the primary election that produced
governor Akpabio in 2011.
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in
the state, Engr Frank Okon, had in his appeal,
alleged that Akpabio emerged through a kangaroo
primary election which he said was not only
fraudulently stage-managed by some officials of the
party, but was done in total disregard to provisions
of the Electoral Act and the 1999 Constitution as
amended.
The
appellant told the court that the said illegal
gubernatorial primary held in Akwa Ibom state on
January 15, 2011.
Okon who also vied for governorship ticket of the
PDP in the state, contended that the Independent
National Electoral Commission, INEC, acted wrongly
when it returned Akpabio as the validly elected
governor, despite the pendency of suits challenging
the validly of his nomination.
However, in the lead judgment on two appeals that
bordered on Akpabio’s election, Justice Bode
Rhodes-Vivour reversed the decision of the Court of
Appeal which had earlier held that Okon had the
locus standi to file the matter.
The panel which was led by Justice John Fabiyi
further noted that the appellant was not
straightforward in his pleadings.
“The court found out that the pleadings of the
appellant in the main appeal where irreconcilable
facts and disjointed. In one breadth, the appellant
said he participated in the governorship primary
election; another breadth, he said he only took part
in the cancelled primary”, the panel added.
Besides, Justice Rhodes-Vivour held that under
section 87(9) of the Electoral Act, the appellant had
lost the right to challenge the election of Akpabio.
“Section 87(9) of the Electoral Act is only applicable
to people who participated in an election. How can
the appellant complain about discrepancies and non
compliance in a governorship re-run primary he did
not take part in”, the court queried.
Consequently, in their unanimous decision, the apex
court Justices held that, “Based on the provision of
Section 87(9), you must have physically
participated in a primary election before you
complain about its outcome. Okon in his affidavit
has said he did not participate and the court so
hold.
“The main appeal filed by the appellant is hereby
dismissed; cross appeal allowed. Decision of the
appellate court is accordingly reversed as the
appellant has no locus standi to file the appeal,
having not participated in the re-run primary
election”.
Whereas it was Okon that lodged the initial appeal,
Akpabio subsequently filed a cross-appeal wherein
he challenged the appellate court decision that
conferred locus on the appellant.
Okon had earlier lost his suit both at the Federal
High Court sitting in Abuja, where he sought for an
order declaring him as the authentic winner of the
Akwa Ibom state PDP Governorship re-run of
January 15, 2011, as well as at the Court of Appeal
in Abuja.
He had equally pleaded the trial court to declare him
as winner of Akwa Ibom gubernatorial election held
on April 26, 2011.
Okon had argued that he was the candidate of the
PDP in the election, having been screened and
cleared to participate in the said election but was
denied the ticket.
In his judgment, the trial judge, Justice Abdulkadir
Abdul-kafarati held that the plaintiff (Okon) had no
locus standi to file the suit, having failed to
participate in the governorship primary elections.
The trial court opined that “mere possession of
PDP’s nomination form, without participating in the
primary election proper to select the party’s
candidate, was not a ground to challenge the
election’s outcome.
Therefore, Justice Abdul-kafarati declined
jurisdiction to determine the suit and dismissed it
forthwith.
Dissatisfied with the trial court’s judgment, Engr
Okon headed to the Court of Appeal which on
November 20, 2013, reversed the judgment of the
trial court, saying that Okon had locus standi to
institute the suit.
The Court of Appeal said the trial court should have
gone ahead to hear the merit of the case rather than
dismissing it for want of jurisdiction.
However, in a bid to unseat Akpabio, the appellant
took the matter before the apex court where he lost
yesterday.

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