The Supreme Court of Nigeria has fixed October 21 to deliver judgement in an appeal seeking to nullify the nomination of the Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly, Sherrif Oborevwori, as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state.
In the appeal filed by an aggrieved governorship aspirant of the PDP in the state, Olorogun Edevbie, he alleged that Oborevwori has submitted false and forged documents to the party, in addition to his qualification to contest the election scheduled for March 11, 2023.
A five-man panel of justice led by Justice Amina Augie, fixed the date after all the parties adopted their final briefs of arguments.
While adopting their brief of argument, counsel for the Appellant, Tayo Oyetibo, told the court that Oborevwori had in an affidavit claimed that he was born in 1963, but however, tendered a West African Examination Council, WAEC, certificate stating that he was born in 1979.
He argued that the case provided a unique opportunity for the Supreme Court to make a pronouncement on the new legal regime introduced by section 29 subsection five of the Electoral Act, 2022 as the new electoral law has introduced a zero tolerance policy for submission of false documents by any aspirant.
But Damian Dodo counsel for Oborevwori urged the court to dismiss the appeal for want of merit that the extant provision of the law is that the sort of allegations the Appellant levelled against him, must be proved beyond reasonable doubt.
PDP counsel , Ahmed Aliyu, also aligned with Dodo as he sought for the dismissal of the appeal, he argued that sections 177 and 182 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, made exhaustive provisions regarding the issue of qualification of candidates for an election.
On August 29, 2022 the court of appeal in a unanimous decision by a three-man panel ofJustices led by Justice Olabisi Ige vacated the judgement of the Federal High Court in Abuja which earlier directed INEC to recognise Edevbie as the bonafide candidate of the PDP for the election.
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According to the appellate court, trial Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the lower court erred when he granted all the reliefs Edevbie sought in his suit without recourse to evidence of witnesses that would have included institutions that awarded certificates to Oborevwori.
The appellate court further maintained that Edevbie’s suit was premature as Oborevwori’s name had not been submitted to INEC by the PDP as at the time the legal action was instituted.
Editor : Ena Agbanoma
