Court Sets Aside Ruling Barring PDP From Challenging APC’s Nomination Of Ebonyi Gov

The Abakaliki Division of the Federal High Court has set aside its earlier judgment which fore­closed the right of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from challenging the nomination of Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru of Ebonyi by the All Progressives Congress (APC) as its 2023 governorship candidate on the ground of it being status barred.

The PDP had in a suit no. FHC/AI/CS/7/2023 challenged the validity of the nomination of Rt. Hon Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru by the APC on the ground that he was still a mem­ber of the Peoples Democratic Party and couldn’t have been nominated by the APC as its 2023 governorship candidate in Ebonyi State.

The plaintiff upon service of the process on the 1st and 2nd de­fendants (Rt. Hon. Nwifuru and the APC) filed their processes which included memorandum of appearance, counter claim, counter affidavit and notice of preliminary objection; but al­legedly served the plaintiff all other processes except the notice of preliminary objection.

On February 4, 2023, the court presided by Justice Fatun Riman sat and the plaintiff’s counsel was reportedly not in court but the court proceeded to hear the notice of preliminary objec­tion and delivered its ruling by granting the relief sought by the defendants, thereby striking out the plaintiffs’ suit.

Dissatisfied by the court’s de­cision, the plaintiff through its counsel, Chief Mudi Erhenede, in a motion on notice dated May 15, 2023, asked the court to set aside its judgment delivered FHC/AI/CS/7/2023 on February 14, 2023.

Erhenede argued that hearing the notice of preliminary objec­tion by the court without being served has denied the plaintiff fair hearing, hence, the motion before the court to set aside the said ruling.

“The purported notice of pre­liminary objection upon which the honourable court based its ruling of 14th of February 2023 was not served on the plaintiff before the said hearing/decision and has still not been served on the plaintiff till the time of this application,” he argued.

Delivering his judgment, on Thursday, Justice Hyeladzira Ajiya Nganjiwa consequently set aside the ruling, saying it was done without jurisdiction, and de­clared it, null and void.

“An order is made setting aside the ruling/decision of this court delivered in suit no. FHC/ AI/CS/7/2023 on the 14th day of February 2023.

“That the ruling/decision de­livered on 14th February, 2023 was done without jurisdiction.

“That the notice of prelimi­nary objection heard and deter­mined and relied upon to strike out suit no. FHC/AI/CS/7/2023 was not served on the plaintiff.

“That the order made was without jurisdiction, null and void.

“That the hearing and de­termination of the notice of preliminary objection without hearing from the plaintiff is un­constitutional and a denial of fair hearing.

“That the suit no. FHC/AI/ CS/7/2023 struck out on the 14th day of February 2023 be relist­ed back on the court’s case lost forthwith for same to he heard and determined on its merit,” Justice Nganjiwa ordered.