BY Taiwo George
The supreme court has dismissed an appeal brought by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), challenging the election of Idris Wada as governor of Kogi state.
On July 10, 2013, the court of appeal in Abuja dismissed the appeal, affirming the decision of the federal high court.
Dissatisfied, CPC proceeded to the supreme court, joining the All Progressives Congress (APC) as co-applicants in the appeal, while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Wada, Abubakar Audu (a former state governor), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Ubolo Okpanachi and James Ocholi (SAN), were co-respondents.
But delivering judgment in Abuja on Friday, Ibrahim Mohammed, the presiding judge who led a seven-man panel, held that the appeal was “incompetent, un-maintainable and unmeritorious”. He therefore dismissed it accordingly.
The apex court also ordered the appellants to pay the sum of N100,000 each as damages to PDP and Wada.
The court said that CPC, having joined ACN and ANPP to form APC on July 31, 2013, ceased to be a political party from that day and lacked the capacity to file an appeal.
“Consequent upon the final and irretrievable death of CPC on July 31, 2013, no appeal or process for that matter is maintainable in the name of CPC before any court of law,” Mohammed said.
“The application before this court is incompetent, unmeritorious and un-maintainable and it is accordingly dismissed. The applicants are ordered to pay N100,000 costs each to the second and third respondents (PDP and Wada).”
On February 21, the apex court dismissed another suit by Jibrin Echocho, also of PDP, who had challenged Wada’s victory at the polls, which held on December 3, 2011.
In a unanimous judgment, the court ruled that Wada was validly elected, upholding the decision of the court of appeal affirming his victory in the gubernatorial election.
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