Court Fixes Judgment in Lagos Election Primary Dispute for September 14

Justice Daniel Osiagor of a Federal High Court, Lagos has fixed September 14 to deliver judgment in a suit filed by All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Paul Adeboye Kalejaiye, seeking disqualification of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the House of Representatives in Ajeromi/Ifelodun Federal Constituency from contesting in the 2023 general election.

The judge fixed this date after arguments and submissions of counsel represented parties in the suit marked FHC/L/CS/1316/2022.

Lawal Pedro (SAN) filed the suit on behalf of the plaintiffs against Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), PDP and Francis Bartholomew, as first to third respondents, respectively.

The APC and its candidate, Kalejaiye, is asking the court to disqualify the PDP candidate, in the coming general election on the ground that the party’s primary, which produced him (PDP candidate) was not in conformity with Section 84(13) of the new electoral Act.

However, the PDP candidate in his preliminary objections to the suit, filed and argued by his team of lawyers, led by Emeka Ozoani (SAN), prayed the court to dismiss the suit, for been frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of court process, as the same have been caught by the limitation of time within which to file pre-election matters under section 285(9) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.

The lawyers, apart from asking the court to dismiss the suit for having been caught by statute of limitation, also asked the court to decline jurisdiction in entertaining it and to award a substantial cost of N10 million, against the APC and Kalejaiye.

After listened to their arguments and submissions of parties, Justice Osiagor fixed September 14, 2022 for Judgment.