By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
ABUJA—Two members of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and All Progressives Congress, APC, have approached the Federal High Court in Abuja to declare that President Goodluck Jonathan is ineligible to seek re-election.
In the suit, which was entered before the court by four Senior Advocates of Nigeria, the plaintiffs, Mr. Adejumo Ajagbe, a PDP member from Lagos State, and Olatoye Wahab, a member of APC from Osun State, also joined the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, as defendants.
The plaintiffs maintained that going by the 1999 Constitution (as amended), President Jonathan, having contested the presidential election twice, won and taken the oath of office and allegiance twice in respect of that office, could no longer present himself for election to that office the third time.
They relied on the provisions of Sections 132(1), 135(2)(a) and (b), 137(1)(b), 142(1) and (2) and the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Marwa and Nyako (2012) 6 NWLR (Part 1296) 199 at 306.
The plaintiffs argued that by the provision of the Constitution, the President and Vice President, who were elected in the same election and sworn into office on the same date and at the same ceremony were in the eyes of the law, deemed to have been elected for one single term of four years, notwithstanding the death or even impeachment of the President.
The suit, which was lodged by four SANs, including Chief James Ocholi, A. Owonikoko, Okon Efut and Mahmu Magaji, has been assigned to Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed for hearing.
The plaintiffs insisted that the reference to “two previous elections” in Section 137(1)(b) of the Constitution, includes two previous oath of allegiance and oath of office taken by President Jonathan.
VANGUARD
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