The Supreme Court has overturned the Court of Appeal’s decision to nullify Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang’s election.
A five-member bench led by Justice Justice Emmanuel Agim overturned the appellate court’s ruling as perverse on the grounds that the primary election that produced Mutfwang fell outside the lower court’s jurisdiction.
The Supreme Court emphasised that the validity of nomination and sponsorship is not a viable reason to nullify an election.
The court of appeals lacked authority to hear it, and the problem of sponsorship has long since passed, adding that the petitioners, who are not PDP members, have no grounds to contest the PDP’s primary election.
On the question of whether the Plateau State High Court’s ruling affects the National Executive Committee (NEC), the supreme court ruled that the appellate court was incorrect in holding that the decree does.
Justice Agim goes on to say that the subject of primaries is an internal matter for political parties over which neither the tribunal nor the Court of Appeal has authority.
Agim also stated that, contrary to the petitioners’ claims and the appeal court’s decision, the Plateau High Court’s ruling was not ignored by the PDP, as evidence proved that a fresh primary was held.
He warned the legal profession to wake up or risk becoming irrelevant to society.
The Presiding Justice, John Okoro, also noted that many people had suffered as a result of the appellate court’s incorrect judgements, which had fired some legislators who had won elections on the PDP platform.
In her submission, Justice Helen Ogunwumiju also berated the court of appeal for wading into the question of nomination and sponsorship despite several rulings of the apex court to the effect that another political party cannot dispute the primary election of another.
