By Adeleye Kunle
The Action Alliance (AA) party has again taken the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and his running mate, Senator Kashim, to court over alleged double nomination, asking the court to prevent INEC from listing them for the election next year.
This comes as the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Idris Wase, has assured Tinubu and Shettima of his full support in the run-up to the 2023 general election and beyond, citing the fact that no other candidate is better qualified to lead the country.
At the same time, a ruling party chieftain, Chief Ayiri Emami, predicted that Tinubu and the party’s governorship candidate in Delta State, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, would win the presidency in next year’s elections.
The AA, on the other hand, had sought the disqualification of the APC from the 2023 presidential election in an earlier suit pending before the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court over an alleged act of perjury on the part of its presidential candidate, Tinubu.
However, in a new suit filed yesterday, July 28, the plaintiff has requested that the ruling party be disqualified for nominating a candidate for more than one constituency in the 2023 general election.
According to the AA in the new suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1256/2022, the act violated Section 35 of the Constitution and the Electoral Act of 2022.
INEC, APC, Tinubu, and Shettima are the first, second, third, and fourth defendants in the suit filed on behalf of the plaintiff by Mr Ukpai Ukairo.
“A declaration that the nomination of the 4th defendant by the 3rd defendant as the Vice Presidential Candidate of the 2nd defendant is void arising from the express provision of Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act, 2022 in that the 4th defendant allowed himself to be nominated in more than one constituency for the 2023 elections,” it says.
“A perpetual injunction prohibiting the third and fourth defendants from campaigning as Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates in the 2023 Presidential election on the platform of the second defendant.”
Plaintiff also sought a perpetual injunction preventing INEC from including Tinubu and Shettima’s names as presidential and vice-presidential candidates in the final list of candidates in the said election, as well as preventing INEC from including APC on the ballot in the said election.
Plaintiff claimed in an affidavit in support of the suit deposed to by one Mr Kalu Agu that the APC broke the law when it nominated Shettima for both the Borno Central Senatorial seat and Vice President in the 2023 general election.
“The 2nd defendant also submitted the 4th defendant’s name as its Candidate in the Borno Central Senatorial election for the 2023 election, and the 4th defendant swore to a Form EC9 in his capacity as the said candidate, which was submitted to the 1st defendant.”
That the 4th defendant also submitted another Form EC9 to the 1st defendant via the 2nd defendant on July 15, 2022, and this time he was nominated for Vice Presidential Candidate.
“That the fourth defendant also deposed under oath as being nominated for the position of Vice Presidential Candidate, constituting the said Form EC9.” The Borno Central Senatorial Zone and the Presidential Election are not the same thing.
“That the Plaintiff applied through me for certified true copies of the 4th defendant’s Forms EC9 for the Borno Central Senatorial Zone and the Presidential election, but the 1st defendant is delaying its release to the Plaintiff,” it prayed.
The suit’s hearing date has not been set.
Wase: Tinubu is the most qualified candidate.
Idris Wase, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, has assured Tinubu and Shettima of his full support in the run-up to the 2023 general election and beyond.
Wase reiterated his earlier position on Tinubu’s capacity when he received the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (ABAT) Support Group on Wednesday at his office.
According to him, no candidate in any political party can match Tinubu’s quality and candidacy, even as he expressed confidence that the APC would win with an overwhelming majority in both chambers of the National Assembly.
“I want to assure you that we in the House of Representatives, particularly members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), will work with every organization to ensure the Tinubu/Shetima ticket’s victory.” I challenge you to go all out in support of Asiwaju.
“We have good merchandise to sell. This is someone who has turned around the Lagos economy in a short period of time and has built people across the country, regardless of region or religion. I charged you all to go out in force, head held high, in search of those votes because you have a good product to sell to Nigerians. “I urged you not to give up on ensuring our candidates’ victory,” Wase said.
Earlier, the organization’s National Coordinator, Hon. Oyinkansola Okiwuyi, stated that they were in the National Assembly to seek the deputy speaker’s support and cooperation, as well as to inform him about the strategy they were employing to galvanize and solicit votes.
Delta Will Deliver Tinubu and Omo-Agege, APC Chief Promises
Chief Ayiri Emami of the All Progressives Congress Party (APC) has stated that the ruling party will win Tinubu the presidency in next year’s presidential election.
He also assured the people that the party would wrest control of Delta from the ruling PDP by massively voting for the party’s gubernatorial candidate, Omo-Agege, who is currently the Deputy President of the Senate.
Emami gave the assurance yesterday at his Ubeji residence when he received Elder Godsday Orubebe, a former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and Director General of the Ovie Omo-Agege gubernatorial campaign committee.
He stated that Tinubu and Omo-emergence Agege’s in the 2023 elections was a collaborative project that would be carried out with all due diligence by their throngs of supporters in the state.
The APC chieftain, on the other hand, emphasized the importance of unity of purpose among all ethnic nationalities in the state to ensure Tinubu and Omo-elections, Agege’s noting that the presidential candidate was an in-law of Delta State, while Omo-Agege has united the party in the state more than ever before.
Emami promised to assist Orubebe in achieving the target goals by mobilizing his throngs of supporters to serve in any capacity necessary to ensure the party’s victory in the 2023 elections.
While lauding Orubebe’s political acumen, another party chieftain, Yemi Emiko, stated that it was no coincidence that he was appointed Director General of the Ovie Omo-Agege gubernatorial campaign committee after previously holding political positions at the state and national levels.
Orubebe, while praising Emami’s leadership qualities, stated that he had to pay him a visit because he has been a consistent member and leader of the APC since he joined the party.
He asked for more help and collaboration to ensure Tinubu and Omo-Agege are elected in 2023.
