Justice Abdul Awulu, the Vacation Judge sitting at the Kogi State High Court, Lokoja, on Thursday, declined an exparte application filed by an All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant, Mustapha Audu, seeking to stop the on-going governorship primary of the party.
The aspirant, who was not cleared by the party to participate in the primary, had filed an experte application “pursuant to section 6(6)a and (b) of the 1999 Constitution and Order 11 rule 7, sub 1 & 2 of the Kogi State (Civil Procedure)5 Rules 2006”.
He sought among others, an interim order restraining the defendants from conducting the party’s governorship primary election scheduled to hold on 29th August, 2019 pending the determination of motion on notice before the court.
The aspirant, a son of the former governor of the state, late Prince Abubakar Audu, also sought an interim order to restrain the defendants from organising any activity connected with the conduct of the election and any other order that the court may deem necessary to make in the circumstance.
Defendants in the suit include the National Chairman of the APC; Chairman of the APC Governorship Primary Election; Chairman of the APC Governorship Primary Election Appeal Committee and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In the originating summons of the suit No HCL/34/2019 and dated 28th August, 2019 the appellant based his application among other grounds, that the exclusion of his name from the governorship aspirants’ list of the APC was a breach of his right and that the conduct of the screening exercise by the party was in breach of the party’s constitution.
He therefore urged the court to direct that he be included as one of the aspirants contesting the primary election and an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from conducting the primary without including his name.
He said he would suffer irreparable loss if the defendants were not restrained from conducting the primary election.
The motion was supported by a 15- paragraph affidavit deposed to by the applicant himself, with another seven-paragraph affidavit of urgency.
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His counsel, D. D. Dugbanya, said he would rely on the affidavits and adopted the written address filed along with the motion.
Ruling on the matter, Justice Awulu, after listening to Dugbanya, declined the application to stop the conduct of the governorship primary election.
He stated: “I have perused the application vis-à-vis the affidavits in support and of urgency along with the written address of counsel.
“I have refrained from raising the issue of jurisdiction suo moto at this stage to prevent an entry into the arena. Let me save that until the motion on notice.
“However, the issue to resolve is whether a court can restrain by an order of injunction the holding of a primary election by a political party.
“This is my view and I so hold that the holding or conducting primary election by a political party cannot be stopped by an order of injunction”.
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