There is massive anxiety in the country as a Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday fixed Wednesday (today) for further proceedings in one of the suits challenging the eligibility of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari(retd.), to contest in Saturday’s presidential election.
Justice Adeniyi Ademola is to rule on fresh applications by intended parties seeking to join the suits as defendants.
The judge fixed Wednesday (today) for the ruling after hearing the intended parties’ applications on Tuesday.
Those whose applications for joining the suit as defendants were heard on Tuesday are Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, Chukwuma Ochu, Sunusi Musa, Ahmed Maitarki and the Fiscal and Civil Rights Enlightenment Foundation.
The suit was filed on January 26, 2015 by a lawyer, Chukwunweike Okafor, asking the court to declare Buhari ineligible to contest the presidential election slated for Saturday over his (Buhari’s) alleged failure to submit his school certificate along with his Form CF001 to INEC.
The Plaintiff’s counsel, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), had in his objection to the applications of the intended defendants, described the applicants as interlopers.
The existing defendants in the suit are the Independent National Electoral Commission, Buhari and the APC.
Earlier on Tuesday, the judge ruled that he would hear both the main suit and Buhari’s preliminary applications challenging the court’s jurisdiction together.
The plaintiff, through his counsel, Ozekhome, insisted that both the main suit and the preliminary applications should be heard together.
But Buhari and the APC had urged the court to hear and determine their preliminary applications which bordered on the court’s jurisdiction first before entertaining the main suit.
The court agreed with the plaintiff and ruled that he would entertain the preliminary applications and the main suit together.
But when the suit will be heard depends on the outcome of the court’s ruling on the applications of intended parties in the suit.
Buhari and the APC had challenged the mode of service of the plaintiff’s originating summons on them, insisting that the issue bordered on the jurisdiction of the court.
Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), who is representing Buhari and Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), counsel for the APC, had while opposing the plaintiff’s prayer to quickly hear the suit, argued that there was no law stipulating that pre-election cases must be heard before the conduct of the elections.
There are about 10 suits instituted against Buhari’s eligibility to participate in the presidential election.
The plaintiff argued that failure of Buhari to submit his school certificate to INEC contravened provisions of sections 131 and 318 of the 1999 Constitution and section 31(3) of the Electoral Act, 2010.
APC warns against disqualifying Buhari
Before the court’s sitting, the APC warned against any orchestrated and last-minute disqualification of Buhari in order to pave the way for an easy victory for President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party.
The APC, through a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, also cautioned against another postponement of the elections.
It said, ‘If it is true, as it is being widely speculated across the country, that the Jonathan administration has procured a judgment to disqualify the APC presidential candidate on Wednesday(today), when the Federal High Court in Abuja is expected to rule on the issue, then it portends a great danger for the nation.”
The party said in addition to other reasons, the six-week postponement of the elections might have been used by those who never wanted the polls to hold to shop for such a “satanic judgment.”
The statement partly read, ‘’Anyone who will disqualify a presidential candidate on the eve of an election can only have one and only one purpose for that: to trigger chaos and pandemonium across the country.
“Perhaps, this is the reason for the deployment of troops across the country to crack down on possible protests and create confusion.
‘’Then, those who orchestrated the disqualification will simply use what they expect to be angry reactions nationwide as an excuse to postpone the elections again, thus triggering a constitutional crisis, the end of which no one can predict.
‘’This is why we are hoping that good reason will prevail and nothing will be done, deliberately, to plunge Nigeria into crisis by the same people who have always been quick to say their political ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian.’’
When contacted, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Abdullahi Jalo, said, “By now, Nigerians have become accustomed to the antics of the opposition. I don’t think anybody takes them seriously any more.” Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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For A General contesting the 4th time.
ReplyDeleteY are they scared of this Man if they've done is at least 50% good?
I don't want to Vote b4 but I think I must vote for this Man so that He can reveal what they're Scared of hiding for NIgerians.
They must have done something very bad and Tryin to cover up cos just wondering y all dis Stress!! Haba!!!
This has also be my own thinking for days now, I believe they have something they hidden for Nigerians bcos I don't see d reason for all this trouble abt d great general, it's very obvious that they re afraid of going to jail period!!!
DeleteGod bless u for ur comment.
DeleteI totally agree with Anonymous 5:56AM and laksy. It appears President Jonathan, his wife and PDP are desperate to satisfy their own personal gain.
DeleteNigerians must be ready to stop President Jonathan and his various groups in their deception.
Pinochet was brought to book several years after his brutal repressive regime ended,but in Nigeria the opposite is the case because some corrupt, power hungry,selfish and lawless people want to continue to have their grip on power and resources because of their selfish interest.. May God save the masses from these vampires.
DeleteFellow Nigerians, beware of GEJ! He will stop at nothing to ensure he plunge this country into a serious Crisis, as advised by IBB his "MENTOR". For they both know what they are hiding from, and scared of GMB. So, let us all join our hands and be very very "VIGILLANT".
ReplyDeleteKeep your advice to yourself.... You don't advice Nigerians who to vote for, we know what's best for ourselves
DeleteThat advice is for a fool like you. We the wise one knows that GEJ is trying very hard to destroy our nation.
DeleteI am short of words but my prayer is that may the peace and light of the Almighty prevail in Nigeria. May change come to stay and the greedy leaders put to shame- AMEN
DeleteGEJ does not want this election to hold. He is scared silly.
ReplyDeleteWe pray this will not be a smokescreen to trigger crisis. The Nigerian political space is overtly inflammable and no one must play games with our destinies.
ReplyDeleteYou guys here are all beating around the bush, you should only ask if he committed the offence of perjury or not. If he is found guilty, he will not only be disqualified, he will also be jailed. Nigerian is bigger than everybody and the only thing that holds us together is our constitution. It is very dangerous to go against the constitution of Nigeria. The constitution is even stronger than your political parties.
ReplyDeleteWhat constitution? The one drafted in 2015? Was the constitution not in existence when he contested the last 2 elections? Why are they scared? Let's be objective, GEJ and his cohorts have skeleton in their cupboards. If not allow him to contest and sit back. If you win fine! If not honorably go back to your village. It simply means Nigerians don't want you any more. Must you force yourself on us?
DeleteWe have said this several times, who cares about the certificate? All that matter is we want our general as long as he has it's national lD card that's ok with me.
DeleteThank you for talking sense to this guys up here, this is the problem we have in his country, we look at people's face and say leave am Jo! If it is you or Me that did what the general did, we will be roasting in one corner in kirikiri, if anybody broke the law of the land, no matter who you are, you should be punished for it, and that includes the general. And look, is attitude a deliberate disregard for the law of the land, that larger than life attitude? That you are all beneath me frame of mind?, and because he has done it the first time, second time, third time, and got away with it , so nobody should say anything? Guys wake up, it is not about GMB, or GEJ,
DeleteThis is lie blackmail , how many boko haram come to attack the 500 men and women ?? APC buhari it will not work for you okay, we are ready to fight you people now from NIGER DELTA , we will turn nigeria up side down this time whatever you need we are ready okay.stupid man
ReplyDeleteYou are the real stupid person. I guess, you've not witnessed the traumatic devastation of a war before, otherwise, you'll shut that your oozing trap. Big fool from NIGER DELTA that you claim.
DeleteMy dear fellow Nigerian, as a member of PDP and from a reliable source, the plan to disqualify Buhari has been perfected. Once the judgement disqualifying Buhari is passed, the federal government and PDP will declare public holidays so as to make it impossible for any appeal. However, as a concerned Nigerian, and not a PDP member, my question is why are all these? Is there anything some people are afraid that when those things are exposed, it will be a problem for them?, Why are we afraid of Buhari? What will be of our country, Nigeria? What is the hope of our unborn babies? Please if anyone has an answer to these should let me know.
ReplyDeleteThank you for been objective. My stake on this is constitutionally, when a judgement is passed, everything goes on standstill until an appeal is filed and heard public holiday or no public holiday. So I dont see the election going on with all these happenings.
DeleteYou guys are very stupid , why are you calling GBJ this is not PDP issue please let us start from change now if he has the certificate let him bring it now ??
ReplyDeleteMUMU, we said we don't even need the certificate don't you understand? His house Nepa bill is ok!
DeleteHehehehehehehe. Anonymous 8:32, you really made me have a good laugh.
DeleteThunder fire you there if you don't need certificate to rule a country full of many intellectuals. Even if the court allows him to contest, we will protest against it. We will flood the streets and cities to protest. He is a man of integrity and he lied on oath. Which kind of change is he bringing to us? Are we changing to perjury in Nigeria?
DeleteHi my fellow Nigerians. We should b wise.we should not fight ourselves for the sake of Al these politicians.are we nor hungry. These guys don't even know us.Buhari or GEJ they have money to fly out of Naira when gbege start.how much we done safe to carry all the wahala 4 head. We should b thinking of forming a new political party by the youth and let's rule this country with a juvenile heart.we done tire for all these old people.Lets PDP and APC give way.the say we are leaders of 2 morrow yet they are still the leaders of 2 morrow. So when our time to lead go come if them nor give us chance?
ReplyDeleteWomen of this days dnt believe u can leed ur family without a cert how much more a whole country without a cert. pls provide ur cert general.
ReplyDeleteObasanjo, Tinubu and Buhari are the problem we have in Nigeria, they are the one turning Nigeria upside down but God will deliver us therefore, Jonathan we know, Buhari we don't know, cast your vote wisely so that there will be no regreat
ReplyDeleteBuhari you want to recover all the money you have been spending since 3 times now and it will not work please ,,go back and sleep you cannot win please is too late for you , Any body who vote Buhari is crazy, you are the elder in your place talk to your boys boko haram to stop this black mail it will not help our country allow GEJ to finish his time 2019 please .
DeleteSeat down, think, think of the future, pray about it, then cast your vote wisely
ReplyDeleteGEJ must go.
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm politically neutral and not in support of, nor against any political party, the truth has to be said. For once, let's think objectively and keep our sarcasm out the door. What has the Jonathan led administration done in 6 years of being in power. This is a man that said if he can't have a significant impact in the lives of Nigerians in 4 years, then he can never do so again, even if given 100 years in power. Well, I guess he had a significant impact in the lives of Nigerians, but only negatively.
ReplyDeleteWhat was Mr. President's gift to Nigerians on independence day? AN INCREASE IN FUEL PRICE!
Nigeria is one of the largest oil producing countries in Africa, if not the largest, yet they still import fuel.
When the price of fuel all around the country was decreasing due to a decrease in oil prices, the price of fuel was increasing in Nigeria.
Why should the National Assembly gulp N1.2 trillion per annum, while they say they are trying to save N1.4 trillion from fuel subsidy?
Mr president set up a committee to oversee the funds being saved from the fuel subsidy, and to reinvest it. Yet, till this very day, nobody has received a single report on how the money is being re-invested.
The president spends about N8 million per annum on food, yet the average Nigerian survives on less than N200 per day.
What happened when the former minister of aviation, Stella Odua, was probed for spending millions of naira to purchase bullet-proof vehicles? Mr president took her on a foreign presidential trip as part of his entourage.
What did mr. president do when the minister of petroleum, Allison Madueke, was probed for spending billions of dollars for her private jets? NOTHING!
What happened when the former CBN governor, Sanusi Lamido, raised an alarm for a missing $20 billion from oil revenue? He was sacked without any gratuity and his international passport was seized.
God bless you, don't mind those fools who all that matter to them is just vote him for what ? Fools GMB all the way.
DeleteNigeria allocates over $25 billion per annum for security, yet boko haram members are more equipped than the army, navy and air force put together.
ReplyDeleteMr president took a loan of over $20 billion from China for the Light Rail Track (LRT) construction, and he gave the contract to a Chinese company, so that the Chinese company can make their own profit from the $20 billion, and still charge an interest rate for the loan! How much more foolish can a man be? Even after the $20 billion, did you see the trains that the minister of transportation got? OLD TRAINS, NOT BRAND NEW! The trains look like there were manufactured in 1985!
A private jet belonging to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) president was intercepted TWICE in South Africa with billions of dollars. Mr president stood up to say the money was meant to buy arms for the army to fight boko haram. Does the nation now contract private citizens to buy arms and ammunitions for the army?
There is no fixed electricity supply, yet there is a fixed charge for electricity supply. You run your generator all through the month, yet you pay a very high amount on electricity bill at the end of the month.
During the Nigeria Immigration Service job recruitment exercise last year, innocent lives were lost due to poor management. What did mr president do to the minister in charge? He gave him just a slap on the wrist.
The military was give intel report days in advance of the Chibok attack, yet they did nothing to stop the attack. What did mr president do? NOTHING! Instead, he said:"Every country experiences terrorism. Maybe it's our own turn to face it." Can you imagine having such a daft human being for a president? This is the same man who said:"Stealing is not corruption"!
In a sudden turn of event, in less than 6 weeks, mr president has fully equipped the army. The army has suddenly and magically started defeating boko haram. I even heard electricity tariff has been slashed by 50%. He offered "Nigeria Immigration" jobs to the families of those who lost family members in the Nigeria Immigration Service job recruitment exercise that happened since last year. He even promised to rid the oil sector of corruption if re-elected, and carry the youths this time along in his administration. Can't you guys see that this is clearly a trojan horse?
Jonathan's administration is full of corruption, unaccountability, impunity, no regard for human lives; no regard for it's citizens nor their well being.
Again, I'm politically neutral, and this is in no way a campaign for Buhari, cos he could even be worse when he gets to power.
All I'm saying is that mr Jonathan is a fool to think he is trying to fool Nigerians, and that Nigerians should be objective and think with their brains, not with their ass!
Did this man commit perjury? If he is found guilty then he shld not only be disqualified he shld be jailed, Senegal jailed a presidential aspirant and son of expresident for 6yrs coz of corruption. Why must we play politics with everything, all those commenting if you produce a fake result why do you think you will be? Nobody is above the law, general or no general if that result is proven to be fake he shld be thrown in jail.
ReplyDeleteOf course, if he's found guilty, he should immediately be jailed. But how donwe know he's guilty? Has any forensic expert examine the tendered certificate as fraudulent?
DeleteBuhari has contested 3 times now, amd this is the closest he has gotten to winning. Why wasn't the issue of his certificate raised on those 3 times? Why is it been debated now that he's close to winning?
I think it would better for an illiterate general to rule nigeria than a clueless and dumb PhD holder.
From his Nomination form he has option of choosing to present or not to present his result, he ticked the option of presenting and when he did, he brought a fake result. That he can't stand and talk for 5mins is not my biz, if he is guilty then he shld be sent to jail let's stop playing politics with everything.
ReplyDeleteBuhari you want to recover all the money you have been spending since 3 times now and it will not work please ,,go back and sleep you cannot win please is too late for you , Any body who vote Buhari is crazy, you are the elder in your place talk to your boys boko haram to stop this black mail it will not help our country allow GEJ to finish his time 2019 please .
ReplyDeleteFool, am sure people like you are probably okada rider who can't even afford 3times square meal.
Delete