By Vivian Okejeme Abuja
Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court Abuja, on Tuesday, declared Hassan Abdullahi, as the validly elected candidate of the New Nigerian Peoples Party, for the November 11, gubernatorial election for Kogi state.
The order was made in a suit filed by Abdullahi challenging his removal as winner of the NNPP governorship primary election for Kogi state.
Consequently, the court has ordered the INEC to immediately recognize Abdullahi as the governorship candidate of NNPP as well as remove the name of one Musa Mubarak, which was hitherto forwarded to the commission by the party.
Defendants in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/651/2023, and filed on May 9, are the New Nigerian Peoples Party, Musa Mubarak, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants respectively.
Justice Omotosho also made an order of perpetual injunction restraining INEC, it’s officers, agents or privies from publishing the name of Mubarak as NNPP’s candidate for the forthcoming Kogi state governorship election slated for November 11, in it’s list of candidates on its portal.
More so, the court ordered INEC to publish the name of Abdullahi as NNPP’s gubernatorial flagbearer in it’s portal for the Kogi state governorshio poll.
In addition, Justice Omotosho mandated NNPP to withdraw the name of Mubarak, and resubmit the name of Hassan Abdullahi to INEC for the November 11, gubernatorial election for Kogi state.
Similarly, the court ordered INEC to remove the name of Mubarak as NNPP’s governorship candidate in the November 11, election, from it’s portal and restore Abdullahi’s name as the bonafide standard bearer for NNPP.
Among all the declaratory reliefs sought by the Plaintiff and granted by the court, include a declaration “That upon a proper interpretation of Sections 84(1) and 84(5)(b) (i) & (ii) of the Electoral Act 2022, as well as Article 34 of the NNPP Constitution and it’s Guidelines for the conduct of primaries for the nomination of candidates for off-season gubernatorial elections (Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi), duly issued under the hand of the National Organizing Secretary of the NNPP, any other Governorship primary election in purportedly conducted by the NNPP, other than the governorship primary election held on April 16, 2023, duly monitored by INEC, duly sanctioned by the National Working Committee of the NNPP and which produced the Plaintiff as the validly elected governorship candidate of NNPP, is unlawful, illegal, unconstitutional and void ab initio.
