APC Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole
The All Progressives Congress, APC, has sued the Independent
National Electoral Commission, INEC, seeking an order to allow its
candidates to participate in the forthcoming general elections in
Zamfara State, according to Vanguard.
The report revealed that the suit filed at the Federal High Court
in Abuja, the party further applied for an order of perpetual injunction
to restrain INEC from giving effect to the content of a letter with
Reg. No. lNEC/SEC/654/1/330 and dated October 9, which foreclosed it
from presenting candidates in Zamfara for failing to conduct its
primaries within the stipulated time.
The court has fixed December 11 to commence hearing on the matter.
Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu okayed the case for hearing on Friday after
she joined the governorship aspirant of APC in the state, Senator Garba
Marafa and a senatorial aspirant, Alhaji Siraju, as well as seven other
chieftains of the party, as defendants in the suit.
APC, in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1279/2018, prayed the court to
declare that INEC’s letter purporting to exclude the party from
presenting and submitting the list of its candidates for the forthcoming
election in Zamfara state scheduled for 2019, is null, void, ultra
vires and of no effect having regards to the provisions of sections
31(1) and 86(2), (3) and (4) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).
“A declaration that by virtue of section 36(1) of the 1999
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and section
31(1) of the Electoral Act (as amended), the defendant lacks the power
to refuse to collect the name of the plaintiff’s candidates for Zamfara
state presented and to be submitted to it not later than 60 days before
the election scheduled for February 2019″.