Politics
Placeholder: Court Dismisses PDP’s Suit Seeking Tinubu, Obi’s Disqualification

The Federal High Court in Abuja has squashed a suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party to disqualify the All Progressives Congress candidate and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi for substituting their vice presidential candidates.
According to the trial judge, Justice Donatus Okorowo, the PDP’s aim of filing the suit was to irritate opponents in the 2023 presidential election.
The suit, filed by Gordy Uche (SAN) on behalf of his client, PDP was incompetent.
Besides, the judge said that PDP failed woefully to disclose any injury it suffered in the substitution of running mates carried out by APC and Labour Party.
The running mates whose substitution are being challenged by PDP are Kabiru Masari and Doyin Okupe for APC and Labour Party respectively.
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In the suit, PDP claimed that the Electoral Act 2022 did not make provision for a “place holder” or temporary running mate and that time for resignation, withdrawal or substitution of presidential candidates of conduct of fresh primaries to replace them is not applicable to Masari and Okupe.
PDP also contended that Tinubu and Obi can only qualify to contest the 2023 presidential election with Masari and Okupe as their respective running mates.
The judge, however, held that the issue of nomination and substitution are internal affairs of parties and that courts have no jurisdiction to dabble into them.
Defendants in the suit with No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1016/2022 are INEC, APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Kabiru Masari, Labour Party, Peter Obi and Doyin Okupe and 1st to 7th defendants respectively.
Details later…
