By: Valentine Adese (JP),
In Nigeria and Africa at large, history repeats itself most often especially, in the continent’s political stage.
In Nigeria and particularly in Zamfara State in 2019, the All Progressives Congress (APC) refused to conduct PROPER PRIMARIES (to be supervised by INEC) to elect candidates for the general elections, this disobedience gave all the seats won by the APC to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as the party that had the second highest number of votes in the elections.
What is happening in Plateau State in 2023 is that, in the year 2020, in the case of Bitrus Kaze & ors vs PDP in Suit No. PLD/J304/2020, the Plateau State High Court had after taking evidence from witnesses, ordered the PDP to simply go and conduct PROPER CONGRESSES to elect Executives and Delegates that would elect Candidates who would contest the general elections.
The Plateau State PDP chapter from plethora of Judgments, did not appeal against this Judgment which sacked the then PDP Excos, which had ordered the party to conduct Fresh Congresses, nor did the party conducted primaries as ordered.
In an exclusive interview with REALITY, Mrs. Ifeoma Eze, a diehard of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who resides and indulges in Politics in Jos, Plateau State, though for security reasons she does not want her picture published, while reacting with lamentation in her voice said, “That was why, if you may recall, the Plateau State Electoral Commission, PLASEIC, barred the PDP from participating in the October 2021 Local Government (LG) elections in which the APC won all the seats including that of Councilors.
“There was no insult that I did not heap on the then Governor, Rt. Hon. Simon Bako Lalong, as a result this, not knowing that it was my party that I would have knocked and blamed. Our leaders in the chapter never told us the truth then and even till date. We are rather informed that the administration of APC led by the then Governor Lalong, used PLASIEC to deprive us from participating in the Local Government (LG) election, with no mentioning of the Court order and the directives therein.
“Yet, in 2023, our chapter without appealing this Judgment nor conducting Fresh Congresses as directed by the Court to elect Excos and Delegates, the it presented names of our candidates for the 2023 general elections and won the state convincingly despite protest from the APC, Labour Party (LP) and the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP).
“Sadly, as I speak to you REALITY, the argument of the chapter is that, since the Electoral Act has provided that no party or candidate of any party has the Locus Standi to question the legality of another party’s primary elections, the APC, LP and the PRP cannot challenge the legality of our chapter’s primary election.
“I am now aware that this is the position of the Law in the course of my personal investigation and interactions. But, from the filers of the Judgments from the Court of Appeal that I am getting and been told by my Sons and Daughters, the APC, LP and the PRP are not challenging the conduct of our chapter’s PRIMARY ELECTIONS.
“What I am now aware of is that the APC, LP and PRP are challenging our victory on the grounds that the chapter did not appeal the 2020 State High Court Judgment that directed the chapter to go and conduct PROPER CONGRESSES to produce DELEGATES that would elect CANDIDATES to contest the 2023 general elections with other parties.
“In other words what I am now understanding from the information that I am receiving is that what APC, LP and PRP are challenging is the CONGRESSES and not PDP’s Party PRIMARIES.
“I am ashamed that this Legal position, as simple as it is, was not understood by our leaders and even by many Lawyers in the chapter”.
TO BE CONTINUED…
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