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General News of Thursday, 19 January 2023

Source: www.mynigeria.com

2023: Court gives important verdict over APC’s muslim-muslim ticket

The All Progressive Congress (APC) has been given a good judgement by the Federal High Court in Abuja after it dismissed the suit filed by barrister Osigwe Momoh seeking the disqualification of Bola Tinubu as the flagbearer of the ruling party.

Reports by The Nation indicated that, Momoh filed the suit on the premise that the APC went in for a Muslim-Muslim ticket for the 2023 presidential polls.

While issuing the verdict, Justice Ahmed Mohammed stated that the plaintiff lacked the locus standi to have approached the court on the issue.

The presiding judge added that a favourable verdict would not be handed to the plaintiff because of the lack of evidence that he is a card-bearing member of the party.

The judge continued that the court would have also heard the case if the plaintiff participated in the primary elections that produced Tinubu as the flagbearer of the APC, hence the court will not be able to rule over the case.

He said APC, Tinubu and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) – “are under a constitutional duty to ensure that the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall not be governed, nor shall any persons or group of persons take control of the Government of Nigeria or any part thereof except in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution."

Momoh said: “The nomination of Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidate of the APC being persons of the same religious faith is exclusionary, divisive and capable of polarizing the country along religious lines and it runs counter to the sacrosanct principles of social justice.”

Momoh further prayed the court for an order cancelling the candidature of APC and Tinubu from participating in the presidential election on the ground that the nomination of Muslim-Muslim candidacy is unconstitutional and against the spirit and letters of sections 14, 15 and 224 of the 1999 Constitution.

BEB