Richard Elesho/ Lokoja
The battle over who owns the governorship ticket of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in Kogi State is still raging at the Appeal Court sitting in Abuja. In spite of the raging pandemic, the court is set to deliver ruling on the matter anytime soon.
It will be recalled that a Lokoja High Court had in February faulted the Party’s Governorship Primaries held on 3rd September and consequently nullified the primary election insisting that the party had no governorship candidate for the November 16 Election.
Justice John Olorunfemi gave the ruling at Lokoja High Court 4. He said the process by the PDP was hasty and inconclusive, a ruling that prompted the various factions to head to the Appeal Court, Abuja Division.
At the last sitting, Counsel to Abubakar Ibrahim, the party’s main challenger and runner up at the party’s primary, Otaru Rowland Otaru, SAN, urged the court to set aside the ruling of the Lokoja High Court, describing the ruling as neither here nor there.
Otaru Rowland SAN, said that the ruling of the Lokoja High Court, over ran the runway, insisting that the ruling granted prayers that were never pleaded by the petitioner, while the ruling glossed over the issues of 600 votes allegedly smuggled in by Engr. Musa Wada.
But in his submission, J.S. Okutepa, SAN, counsel to Engr. Musa Wada, winner of the PDP ticket, also described the ruling by the Lokoja High Court as a surprise. He said the ruling failed to meet the expectations of the winner, insisting that the September 3rd PDP primaries was free, fair and credible and described the allegations as raised by the petitioner as characteristic of the average Nigerian politician to cry foul after losing in an election.
Nigerian Post reports that the panel of Justices, drawn from Edo, Kwara and Benue States having listened to all the parties, including INEC and the PDP, adjourned for judgment, noting that counsel to the party’s involved would be communicated on a date for the ruling.