A Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, yesterday ruled that the candidates of the Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN) in Ogun State are qualified to contest the forthcoming general elections. The state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had filed a suit against the PPN over the emergence of the candidates.


Dayo Soremi, chairman of the party and two others, on behalf of PDP candidates for the 2011 general elections had, on March 22, approached the Federal High Court, Abuja seeking an order to stop the PPN governorship candidate, Gboyega Nasir Isiaka, from contesting the governorship election. The case was, however transferred by the judge to a Federal High Court in Abeokuta, under argument that a circular dated March 16 ordered that all pre-election cases be filed in the state where the primaries and nominations were conducted.

The PDP, in the suit, argued that the respondents were members of the PDP before defecting to the PPN and that they were previously on the list of the party as candidates for the election before decamping. In view of this, the party asked for an order of the court to restrain INEC from publishing the name of Mr Isiaka and eight others as candidates for the election.

Not your business But the court, in its ruling yesterday, declared that the PDP has no locus standi to institute a case seeking to disqualify candidates of another party and therefore dismissed the suit in its entirety. The presiding judge, Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, also ruled on an application filed by PPN seeking a restrain on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from tampering, altering or in any way removing the nomination list of PPN as submitted to the commission by the party.

Mrs Ofili-Ajumogobia upheld the arguments of the PPN, saying the PDP and its members have no locus standi to institute the action and therefore dismissed the case. She also restrained INEC from tampering, altering or removing the nomination list as submitted to the commission by the PPN.



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