The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Bala Ngilari

  • INEC awaits court order on Adamawa

    INEC awaits court order on Adamawa

    The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Attahiru Jega, said the commission would in the course of the day announce its position on the conduct of Saturday’s Adamawa Governorship by-election.

    Jega said this on Wednesday in Yola while addressing political stakeholders in the by-election slated for Saturday.

    “As we prepare for this meeting just 30 minutes ago, I received the information from Abuja that a Federal High Court has, among others, granted an injunction restraining INEC from conducting the Adamawa by-election.

    “This information came to me from our Director Legal Services.

    “INEC is a law abiding organization, I am yet to see the court order but I still believed that the right thing to do under the circumstances is not to proceed with this meeting until we get a sufficient clarification.

    “Once we get a proper process served on us in the course of the day, we will make an appropriate announcement as what the position of INEC is on this particular matter,” Jega said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that a Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday ordered that the former Deputy Governor of the state, Mr. Bala Ngilari, should be sworn in immediately as the governor.

    The court said in its judgment that the Acting Governor, Alhaji Ahmadu Fintiri, was occupying the office illegally as the former Deputy Governor Ngilari, had not resigned from office.

    Meanwhile, Fintiri said he had directed his lawyers to appeal against the judgment.

    “Our lawyers are preparing their papers and will file an appeal in the next 20 minutes.

    “We are awaiting the result of the appeal and we still belief the election will take place,” Fintiri said.

  • Adamawa: INEC shuns Ngilari’s suit

    The Independent National Electoral Commission on Tuesday shunned proceedings before a Federal High Court in Abuja in the suit filed by a former deputy governor of Adamawa State, Mr. Bala Ngilari.

    Ngilary in the suit is asking the court to sack Adamawa State’s Acting Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri and make him (Ngilari) the governor.

    When the case was called, INEC, a party in the suit, was not represented in the court.

    The plantiff’s lawyer, Festus Keyamo, told the trial judge, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, that although INEC has been served with court processes in relation to the suit, it was likely to “care less about this matter.”

    Keyamo said he has filed a further affidavit containing information to the effect that Fintiri has written a letter to INEC, urging it to conduct a bye-election for the post of substantive governor “as quickly as possible.”

    The Constitution requires INEC to conduct bye-election within 90 days at the impeachment of a governor.

    Ex-Adamawa Governor,  Murtala Nyako was impeached by the state House of Assembly on July 15, who also declared the deputy governor’s  seat vacant.

    Lawyers to other defendants in the suit, including Duro Adeleye (SAN) and Leonard Nzardom sought time to enable them respond to the processes served on them.

    They cited the provision of Section 99 of the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act, which they said gave them a minimum of 30 days to respond to court processes served through substituted means.

    Nyako’s lawyer, Ayo Akam, told the court that he has responded to the suit by filing a counter-affidavit.

  • Adamawa: Ex- deputy governor loses bid to stop bye-election

    Ex- Adamawa State’s Deputy Governor, Bala Ngilari, on Friday lost in his bid to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from conducting bye-election to fill the vacant governorship seat in the state.

    The seat became vacant following the recent impeachment of Murtala Nyako by the state lawmakers.

    Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in a ruling, refused Ngilari’s ex-parte motion in which he sought an interim restraining order against the INEC.

    The judge ordered that INEC be put on notice and fixed next Tuesday for hearing of the motion on notice containing similar prayer of injunction.

    Justice Ademola, who listened to Ngilari’s lawyer, Festus Keyamo, moved two ex-parte motions filed for the plaintiff, granted his prayer for substituted service, via the newspaper.

    The judge also granted leave to the plaintiff to serve court processes on the defendants outside Abuja.

    Ngilari, whose office was declared vacant on July 15 by the state’s lawmakers following their impeachment of the governor, had earlier this week sued the legislators and asked the court to sack the state’s acting Governor, Ahmadu Umaru and make him (Ngilari) the governor.

    The suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/545/14 has Umaru, the Speaker, Adamawa State House of Assembly, the House of Assembly, the Acting Governor, Adamawa State, Nyako and INEC as defendants.