Taraba PDP guber primary: Nyameh heads to Supreme Court
By Terna Chikpa, Jalingo
Following the appeal court judgement on Friday over the 2023 governorship primaries that produced Col Kefas Agbu as the people’s Democratic Party (PDP), governorship candidate in Taraba state, the Professor Jerome Nyameh campaign organisation has vowed to appeal the judgement at the supreme Court.
In a press statement issued to Journalists on Saturday and signed by, Pharm. Stephen Haruna, Director Communications and Strategy of the campaign council, expressed that the minority judgement of Justice Saidu Tanko Husaini JCA, the judgement of the two justices would be the subject of Appeal to Supreme Court.
According to the statement, the campaign council claimed that in the judgement, the three (3) Justices of the Court of Appeal were divided in their decisions.
The statement also claimed that Justice Obande Festus Ogbuinya, JCA and Justice Adebukunola I. Banjoko JCA, were absent in the court but wrote their majority judgement in favour of Kefas while, Justice Saidu Tanko Husaini JCA who was in court wrote his minority judgement in favour of professor Nyameh and the campaign council believes that the minority judgement of Justice Saidu Tanko Husaini was the correct position of the law.
“The campaign council of professor Jerome Nyameh and her team of learned counsels shall contend the appeal to Supreme Court on the grounds that the judgement of Justice Saidu Tanko Husaini JCA was better than the judgment of the two justices that were absent and we trust God that the appeal would favour Jerome Nyameh.
“While Justice Obande Festus Ogbuinya, JCA and Justice Adebukunola I. Banjoko JCA who were absent in the court wrote their majority judgement in favour of Kefas, Justice Saidu Tanko Husaini JCA wrote a minority judgement in favour of professor Nyameh.
“Justice Saidu Tanko Husaini JCA who was present in court stated that the two justices absent have written their majority judgment that the case of Prof. Nyameh was an internal affairs of PDP and they will not interfere.
“Justice Saidu Tanko Husaini JCA then read out his own minority opinion judgement stating the following grounds:
1.PDP and Kefas clearly violated the Constitution and guidelines of PDP for the primary election which the law permits the Court to intervene.
2.The PDP must abide by its Constitution and guidelines for Primary Election.
3.That Primary Election is a process which starts from buying form, participating in screening before election is conducted.
4.That before a person can be allowed to participate in primaries, he must have purchased his forms, participated in screening and cleared within the time stated in election time table.
5.That the evidence before the Court shows that Kefas did not purchase form and did not participate in screening within the time all other aspirants where allowed to do so.
6.That Kefas claims he applied for extension of time by tendering his application letter for extension of time, however, failed to tender the approval letter showing time was extended for him.
7.That the failure of Kefas or PDP to tender any letter to show that, time was extended or a waiver was given to him to buy form and was screened as a special candidate is fatal, therefore, it has rendered his purported clearance certificate an invalid document.
8.That the purported list of aspirants containing the name of Kefas was not duly signed by any PDP official, and by provision of the law,an unsigned document is invalid, worthless and inadmissible in law.
9. That since Kefas did not buy form and did not participate in the party screening exercise conducted at PDP northeast zonal office at Bauchi, he is therefore not eligible to participate in the primaries.
10. That fresh primaries be conducted within 14 days from today, sat.sept.26, 2023, excluding Kefas who is not qualified.
11.That however, since the other two justices absent do not agree with him, it means, their view is the judgement of the Court of Appeal subject to appeal to Supreme Court.
“Drawing from the above strong point of law raised in the minority judgement of Justice Saidu Tanko Husaini JCA, the judgement of the two justices will be the subject of Appeal to Supreme Court and we believe that the minority judgment of Justice Saidu Tanko Husaini is the correct position of the law,” The statement read.
