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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Supreme Court has reserved judgment on three separate appeals that seek to nullify the election of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State as well as the appeal filed by Governor Caleb Mutfwang urging it to uphold his election.
A five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Inyang Okoro, decided after all the parties adopted their final briefs of argument.
The multiple appeals were filed before the court by the candidate of the All Progressive Congress, APC, in the governorship poll that was held in the state on March 18, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, as well as candidates of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, and the Labour Party, LP, Mr. Kenneth Gbagi and Ken Pela, respectively.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared that Oborevwori of the PDP polled 360,234 votes to win the governorship election ahead of Omo-Agege of the APC, who secured 240,229 votes.
In their respective appeals, the appellants had urged the Supreme Court to invalidate the November 24 judgment of the Court of Appeal in Lagos State, which dismissed their case for want of merit and affirmed Oborevwori of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as the bona fide winner of the governorship contest.
They equally faulted an earlier judgment of the Delta State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Asaba, which on September 29, affirmed Oborevwori’s election.
Omo-Agege, who is the immediate past Deputy President of the Senate, contended that the election was not conducted in substantial compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act.
He told the apex court that the results of the governorship election were not properly recorded at some polling units, adding that the forms that contained some of the recorded results did not have serial numbers.
While the SDP candidate, Gbagi, prayed the court to declare that Governor Oborevwori was not eligible to contest the election, his counterpart in the LP, Pela, urged the Supreme Court to nullify the entire election and declare a fresh one.
The Supreme Court said it would communicate the judgment date to all the parties.
Similarly, the apex court also reserved judgment in the appeal filed by Governor Caleb Mutfwang urging it to uphold his election.
The Governor alleged that he was not given a fair hearing by the Court of Appeal, therefore its decision to nullify his election was manifestly flawed.
The Court of Appeal on November 19 sacked the governor and declared the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nentawe Yilwatda, as the winner.
Mutfwang, however, faulted the Court of Appeal judgment and asked the Supreme Court to restore his mandate.
In his eight issues distilled before the Court of Appeal, Governor Mutfwang argued through his legal team led by Kanu Agabi (SAN) that only one of them was determined as others were untouched.
He said the decision of the Court of Appeal was contrary to the directive of the Supreme Court that intermediate courts should pronounce on all issues placed before it.
The appellant told the Supreme Court that when he presented eight issues before the Court of Appeal, only one was considered to invalidate his election.
During the hearing of the appeal a five-member panel of the Supreme Court led by John Okoro took arguments from lawyers to parties in the case.
After a fierce session of arguments between Mr. Mutfwang’s counsel, Kanu Agabi, and Mr. Yilwatda’s counsel, J.O Olatoke, the Supreme Court said a date for judgment would be communicated to parties in the suit.
But before reserving judgment in the appeal, the Supreme Court raised two fundamental questions as to whether the tribunal has the jurisdiction to listen to issues of party congresses.
And also to whether given its judgments in several cases, issues of nomination and sponsorship which are pre-election matters can be entertained by the Tribunal.
Agabi argued that alleged disobedience to a subsisting orders of court is not part of the grounds to consider in disqualifying a candidate sponsored by a political party.
He argued that the entire petition was founded on the nomination and sponsorship of his client by the PDP.
He said the court departed from judicial precedence of the apex court on the issue of sponsorship as a pre-election matter.
The presiding justice of the five-man panel chaired by Justice Inyang Okoro asked Agabi to address them on the implication of the court sacking almost all the candidates that contested on the PDP platform in the state over a subsisting orders of a court.
Responding, Agabi said he had listed in his brief of arguments how the PDP complied with the order of court.
According to him, the court below only said the compliance was inadequate because the PDP did not have the required numbers of delegates from the Local Government Areas in Plateau state.
“What is the effect of the subsisting order of a high court that said PDP should conduct a valid court?” the apex court asked again.
Agabi said exhibits were tendered by INEC and others to show that a valid congress was held.
He added that in any case, by the apex court decision, the APC has no standing to challenge the congress of another political party.
Counsel for the PDP candidate, Prof. J.O Olatoke, was asked if the order of a high court which obviously was given without jurisdiction can have an effect against the PDP and its candidates.
Olatoke replied that the matter of invalid congress was instituted by PDP chieftains and was affirmed by the Court of Appeal.
Omosoya Popoola, counsel for the APC, asked the apex court to uphold the removal of the governor.
“Does the court have jurisdiction to deal with the issue of how a candidate is nominated by a political party?,” the apex court asked him.
Poopola said it is not in all cases that the court can decline jurisdiction.
After hearing them, the Supreme Court reserved judgement.
The verdict will be passed on or before January 16, when the appeal would elapse.
Mutfwang insisted that since he was not given a fair hearing, the Supreme Court should dismiss the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which invalidated his election.
