Sanchez01:

The whole thing is a game. I am sure the APC sponsored the party to the tribunal and upturned Diri's candidacy.

The party knows it doesn't stand a chance. The goal is to push for a restart and then force everyone to the starting race line.

Most smaller parties are sponsored by the big parties to either split votes, serve as a cog in a candidate's wheel and force an election to be cancelled.

Where the bigger party step in is via the judiciary.

So why is pdp afraid

Dgr8hassiE:

Very funny my Brother

He is right

That inec woman is always looking dumb

ORIENTATION101:
oga dont bore me with too much rhetorics. If you believe inec has power to disqualify a Candidate or political party , I will advised you to join inec legal team.
Cos tribunal ruling is in line with supreme court 2007 judgment.

its you who brought in rhetorics here when you gave the instance of a thief caught in someones home. By the way using your own rhetorics, why not wait for court order before you even catch the thief ? In this case inec caught a thief a 34 year old thief trying to enter a place made for 35 year olds. Now you want them (inec) to open the gate for them and allow them to come in and now run to court and tell : i saw a thief trying to climb the fence, i now ask him to come down and follow the main get cos he may injure himself if he falls . And now i've come to this honourable court to report the same thief. And to ask this court to tell the thief not to jump the fence. Or the thief goes to court and tells them to let them in afresh

ORIENTATION101:
supreme court in 2007 has already ruled that inec has no power to remove candidate or party. The decision lies with the court.

Recent cases like APC in zamfara, rivers, bayelsa is an example where only court disqualified their party and candidates that participated in election

Like they mentioned,this is a pre-election matter and the status of limitation on when to file a case has elapsed..
Whichever way them want to do it,na siddon look we dey..
Nothing be my own for inside,Naija matter done tire person..

ORIENTATION101:
so if there is no substitution of candidate for fresh Election . tell me how inec will add andp to fresh Election that the court orderd?

this really make sense isn't possible another election holds without ANDP and once it can replace the deputy with a qualified person it also means APC can also replace it's deputy. Only thing that can prevent these from happening is if Supreme Court upturn the judgement. The court ordered a fresh election meaning the last election is null and void. Though in my own layman knowledge I'm not a lawyer I'm a musician ... XPOL

seunlayi:



Listen, 3 Judges ruled. The Chief judge disagreed with the petition and submission of the other 2 judges. ANDP is going to fall at the high and supreme Court. I am not apc or pdp neither related to the parties, this is just a simple case


This is from the tribunal head

Justices Owei Woniwei and Yunusa Musa, in their majority judgement, agreed that INEC illegally excluded ANDP and its governorship candidate, King George, from the election.

However, disagreeing with the verdict, the tribunal Chairman, Justice Sirajo, said there was evidence that ANDP was disqualified from the election for fielding an ineligible candidate.

He noted that the party nominated an underaged deputy governorship candidate, who admitted that he was 34 years old, instead of the 35 years age bracket the Constitution stipulated.

Justice Sirajo said there was evidence that the party failed to substitute the candidate till the statutory window for such substitution elapsed.

He noted that Exhibit P8 before the tribunal was a letter that INEC wrote to the party on September 21, 2019, wherein it notified ANDP that the period for substitution of candidates had expired.

According to the Justice Sirajo, what the petitioners brought before the tribunal was a pre-election case since INEC’s decision that disqualified its candidates occurred before the actual election held on November 16, 2019.

He held that under section 285(9) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, the party, ought to have within 14 days after it got the notification from INEC, gone to a Federal High Court to challenge it.

The tribunal chairman held that failure of the party to do so made its petition against governor Diri’s election, statute-barred.

Besides, Justice Sirajo held that section 138(1) (d) of the Electoral Act provided grounds upon which an election could be challenged at the tribunal, vis-a-vis section 285(14) of the Constitution which defined disqualification of the candidate by INEC as a pre-election matter.

He held that since the Constitution is superior to the Electoral Act, it takes preeminence.

He held that the disqualification of ANDP by INEC was not unconstitutional because it nominated an underaged candidate.

The Judge stressed that since the disqualified candidate did not meet the constitutional requirement, he was therefore not a valid candidate that could claim right of exclusion.

He held that a political party must have a valid nomination before the issue of exclusion could arise.

Consequently, Justice Sirajo dismissed the petition as lacking in merit, even as he upheld the election of governor Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Though the judgement may not stand but being the chairman of the tribunal doesn't matter what matters is the decision of Simple majority

ORIENTATION101:
agreed andp didnt meet up with the substitution window according to inec
The bone of contention is who have the power to disqualify a candidate/party in election?

Is it the inec or court?

It was court that disqualfied APC in zamfara, Rivers, bayelsa not inec.

oga,there's no need of court here because,they never met inec guideline at first, inec set the rules,and if you don't follow the rules they have the right not to include you, buh if you follow the rules properly and they disqualify you,then the court can come in.simple as abcd

ORIENTATION101:
Inec should stop playing to the Gallery.

The court is clear on the ruling, inec have no constitutional power to remove a candidate or political party whether they re ineligible or not.

The power lies in the hand of competent court of jurisdiction to do so.

INEC has their rules and guidelines to election process, now they gave clear reasons which you saw on the article so tell me if INEC has no right to dismiss such party for not following due process? Let’s be truthful in this country and stop bypassing policies and due process, that’s exactly where our problems derived from, #lawlessness#

Noblechykk:
Nigeria, the more you look, the less you see.

I think the more you look, the more you see but the less you understand

Bigchristo:
INEC has their rules and guidelines to election process, now they gave clear reasons which you saw on the article so tell me if INEC has no right to dismiss such party for not following due process? Let’s be truthful in this country and stop bypassing policies and due process, that’s exactly where our problems derived from, #lawlessness#

Inec rules and guidelines is inferior to the constitution,electoral act and supreme court rulings which stops inec from disq a candidate

garfield1:


So why is pdp afraid

Because the smaller party here is in acting the interest of another party.

An election restart would mean the APC will win if the previous is cancelled.

ORIENTATION101:
Inec should stop playing to the Gallery.

The court is clear on the ruling, inec have no constitutional power to remove a candidate or political party whether they re ineligible or not.

The power lies in the hand of competent court of jurisdiction to do so.

Then there shouldn't be an inec then if they don't have such power, what you are implying is that inec should just conduct any election even if the candidate is 10 years old because according to you it is not their duty to disqualify anybody.

Sanchez01:

Because the smaller party here is in acting the interest of another party.

An election restart would mean the APC will win if the previous is cancelled.

Then so be it.let the party the people want win

garfield1:


Inec rules and guidelines is inferior to the constitution,electoral act and supreme court rulings which stops inec from disq a candidate

Your arguments is baseless if you think INEC don’t have the rights to disqualify any political party if they find out irregularities and misconduct,fielding underage candidates as deputy governor, it was even brought to their notice before the deadline which they refused to correct until after the deadline elapsed, I wonder what else is left for you to argue about.

seunlayi:
underage - the party accepted this already by substituting the candidate but it was LATE. Stop defending what is not

The party knows the deadline to submit a name which is 9 and they submitted 13th that is the substituted name I mean, the constitution is there for them to read or they don't have lawyers who is to advise them on the age limit for governorship or his deputy?.

Bigchristo:
Your arguments is baseless if you think INEC don’t have the rights to disqualify any political party if they find out irregularities and misconduct,fielding underage candidates as deputy governor, it was even brought to their notice before the deadline which they refused to correct until after the deadline elapsed, I wonder what else is left for you to argue about.

It is your argument that is baseless since it has no basis.in2007,the almighty supreme court ruled that inec has no power to disq any party,only a court can.this decision has remained so till now...the supreme court in 2015 and 2019 clearly ruled that the constitution and electoral act supercedes inec guidelines.if inec feels its guidelines were disobeyed,it should go to court.you cannot counter this so let it slide

garfield1:


Fergie,ejimatic, aaa593

. beautiful ! Good way of resolving it too.At times I wonder what the legal department of INEC does on matters like this.I believe this case was one of the atrocities INEC carried out in 20019 election.

babajero:
The party knows the deadline to submit a name which is 9 and they submitted 13th that is the substituted name I mean, the constitution is there for them to read or they don't have lawyers who is to advise them on the age limit for governorship or his deputy?.

No law gives inec powers to exclude any party that has submitted candidates.only the courts can.the supreme court settled this in 2007.have you ever seen inec disqualify a candidate that does not have the necessary qualifications to contest? Anytime they tried it,the court rules against them.

This is like the case of okorocha in imo.inec declared him winner and they tried to stop him from getting his certificate of return.he went to court and the court criticised inec that once inec declares a winner,it must either issue a certificate nd then go to court...

The only time inec can disq a candidate is if there was no primaries like in zamfara and if a court orders them to

seunlayi:
Inec seems right on this point

To those blaming inec, you should try to understand our political terrain as it relates to our guber polls. Nigeria is a multiparty state, many of this parties are just there to make up with numbers or like an owambe tinzs. Their candidates will show and dissappear before election, they weaken out, join another candidates etc before the election. INEC is guided by laws, they are the umpire, they have guidelines and deadlines stipulated. Andp acknowledge fielding an underage candidate, maybe due to shortage, lack of qualified substitution, etc they were unable to meet up with the deadline (wonder why pdp and Apc do rush to meet up with the deadline). They later came up with a subtitute and INEC told them it was late. INEC took a further step by not listing them for the election. I m sure if it were to be on other grounds like intra-party disputes, cases of eligibility in court, etc. INEC won't remove the name from the list...

My question is, was INEC not a defendant in the suite? If they are, did they give this explanation to the judge before he made his ruling?

ejimatic:
. beautiful ! Good way of resolving it too.At times I wonder what the legal department of INEC does on matters like this.I believe this case was one of the atrocities INEC carried out in 20019 election.

Honestly I think the law should be amended to allow inec powers to disq any erring parties.but until then,it lacks that power once a party has validly held its primaries and submitted names of its candidates.

muykem:
I disagree with this dissenting judgement. The letter written by INEC had no locus standing if the party fulfilled all constitutional requirements so they didn't need to challenge the case at high court. Secondly the question here is who has power to disqualify or pronounce a candidate illegible. INEC or court, this case has been settled even recently in Kogi election. Court is the only one with power to do so even in David Lyon case in the same election.

Inec did their job by removing the party from the ballot as the elections umpire, that is why they first scrutinize candidates before election. It is the party's duty to go to court within 14 days or submit a substitute for the deputy before 9th of September and they did neither.

fujirice:

My question is, was INEC not a defendant in the suite? If they are, did they give this explanation to the judge before he made his ruling?

Am sure they did but should have gone to court first or filed a cross appeal.there are two wrongs here and that of inec has overshadowed that of the andp..
This case may go the way of imo when inec and pdp should have filed a cross appeal at the tribunal to properly disq the party but failed to

babajero:
Inec did their job by removing the party from the ballot as the elections umpire, that is why they first scrutinize candidates before election. It is the party's duty to go to court within 14 days or submit a substitute for the deputy before 9th of September and they did neither.

No.inec does not have the powers any where to remove any candidate whether they erred or not without a court order.since inec felt that the law was breached,the proper thing was to go to court.inec is a legal entity and can go to court,it is not the duty of parties alone.in the past inec tried to disq candidates with fake qualifications but the court stopped them

garfield1:


Honestly I think the law should be amended to allow inec powers to disq any erring parties.but until then,it lacks that power once a party has validly held its primaries and submitted names of its candidates.

. I agree with you.It was yesterday that I thought of empowering INEC to disqualify unsuitable candidates. If dissatisfied, a disqualified party or candidate must be allowed to appeal in a court of law.This will check excesses of INEC in this regard. Till that is incorporated in our constitution INEC is just a referee in a football match.

garfield1:


Honestly I think the law should be amended to allow inec powers to disq any erring parties.but until then,it lacks that power once a party has validly held its primaries and submitted names of its candidates.

I agree with you.It was yesterday that I thought of empowering INEC to disqualify unsuitable candidates. If dissatisfied, a disqualified party or candidate must be allowed to appeal in a court of law.This will check excesses of INEC in this regard. Till that is incorporated in our constitution INEC is just a referee in a football match

muykem:
Why INEC didn't not wrote APC and remove their name from ballot since their deputy governor was not qualified to contest in the same election or is INEC saying it has power to disqualify candidate only on age issue?

Is INEC saying it has power to disqualify candidate only on age issue?
Yes, and other things that are clearly written in the constitution, in the case of apc it was forgery which needed evidence and witnesses prove, but Andp case is clearly stipulated in the constitution.

garfield1:


Am sure they did but should have gone to court first or filed a cross appeal.there are two wrongs here and that of inec has overshadowed that of the andp..
This case may go the way of imo when inec and pdp should have filed a cross appeal at the tribunal to properly disq the party but failed to

Ok, thank you for the explanation.

ORIENTATION101:
funny the ineligibility of the andpcandidate is a pre-election that should have been taken up by inec or another party. Nobody challenge it court until this moment.

So the case before the court now is why inec excluded andp without court order

What you wrote here is just like asking, why will Inec disqualify a candidate without certificate or an affidavit that effect, or disqualify a foreigner from contesting, or disqualify an inmate who has been convicted of murder or other offences, or disqualify a 10 years old boy. And remember Inec is a product of the law and it is an independent body until proven otherwise.

ORIENTATION101:
agreed andp didnt meet up with the substitution window according to inec
The bone of contention is who have the power to disqualify a candidate/party in election?

Is it the inec or court?

It was court that disqualfied APC in zamfara, Rivers, bayelsa not inec.

Inec have the power to disqualify a candidate if the offence is clearly drafted in the constitution.

kahal29:
*INEC Does Not Have Power to Disqualify Candidates, Says Court*

Just like Muykem argued..... The question here is who has power to disqualify or pronounce a candidate illegible. INEC or court, this case has been settled even recently in Kogi election. Court is the only one with power to do so even in David Lyon case in the same election.

Go check those cases their offence was not clearly written in the constitution.