PLATEAU WEEKEND POLITICS: POLITICAL AND LEGAL BATTLES TO BEGIN AT THE SUPREME COURT SOON

By: Valentine Adese (JP),

Soon, the citizens of Plateau State would stop the Social Media battles and troubles and center their attention on the oncoming happenings at the Supreme Court of Nigeria (SCN), as the embattled Governor of Plateau State, Caleb Mutfwang (Esq) and his party, the Plateau State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) would be having a full legal-day political-war with the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Plateau State Governor-elect, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, over the Plateau State Number-One seat.

The struggle for the seat has pre-dates the main election in 2023, as campaigns were heated up with issues ranging from Religion, and Ethnicity to alleged outright sale of the state.

However, with the Respondents filing their Reply Briefs in response to the Brief and Argument filed by the Appellants () on or before the 21^st of December and the Reply to it on Points of Law, by the Appellants at the Supreme Court, the issues and campaigns would be reduced to LAW.

It is therefore expected that parties in the matter would be addressing the Supreme Court of Nigeria, on electoral issues as provided by the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) and centering on:

1. Section 177 and Section 134 of the New Electoral Act.
2. Whether it was right for the PDP to have ignored the Interlocutory Injunction served on it to stop the conduct of the 25^th September 2021 State Congress.
3. Whether it is justifiable for only 5 Local Government Areas (LGAs), to participate in the Congress, putting side by side the Orders of Hon. Justice Gang in his Judgment of 2020 and followed by that of Hon. Justice Kunda, in which both ordered, for Congresses to be conducted at the Wards, Local Governments, and State.
4. The parties would also be expected to justify the Judgments of the Federal High Court, Jos Division, Court of Appeal, Jos Division, and the Supreme Court on the structure issue and the nonexistence of the PDP in Plateau State.

It is of note that, recently the Supreme Court had set a precedence that, “No one or political party can challenge another party’s Internal Affairs including Nomination and Sponsorship except, where there is an already subsisting Court Judgment against such political party”.

TO BE CONTINUED…

NEXT: GOVERNOR MUTFWANG’S ALLEGED CONGRATULATORY MESSAGE BY TINUBU THAT JUST COLLAPSED.