How court nullified Ebonyi Labour Party guber primary rerun, sacked new candidate, restored Eze Oko as substantive candidate

The Abakaliki Judicial Division of the Federal High Court of Nigeria holden at Abakaliki, on August 31, 2022, nullified the gubernatorial rerun primary election of the Ebonyi State chapter of the Labour Party (LP).

His Lordship, Hon. Justice Fatun O. Riman also sacked the candidate produced in the rerun election, Mr. Edward Nkwegu, as well as the new party chairman appointed earlier.

The suit, with file number: FHC/Al/CS/147/2022, initiated by Mr. Eze Oko as the Plaintiff , had Labour Party, Barr. Julius Abure, Alhaji Farouk Ibrahim, Hon. Jioke Godwin and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the Defendants.

The Plaintiff, in the originating summons, sought amongst other things, the following determinations:

• Whether the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants can validly substitute the name of the Plaintiff as a gubernatorial candidate of Labour Party in Ebonyi State for the 2023 general elections without a valid withdrawal letter signed by the Plaintiff and personally delivered to the 1st Defendant in compliance with Section 31 and 33 of the Electoral Act, 2022.
• Whether the 3rd Defendants can accept, publish and announce another person apart from the Plaintiff as the substantial candidate of Labour Party in the 1023 general elections without a valid withdrawal letter signed by the Plaintiff and personally delivered to the 1st Defendant and a fresh gubernatorial primary election in Ebonyi State in compliance with Section 31 and 33 of the Electoral Act’ 2022.
• Whether the appointment of the 4th Defendant as the State Chairman of Labour Party in Ebonyi State by the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants as the first step in the planned unlawful substitution of the name of the Plaintiff as the gubernatorial candidate of Labour Party in Ebonyi State is proper having regard to the provisions of Articles 7 and 17(iii) of the Labour Party Constitution (As amended 2019) and the Plaintiffs appointment letter dated 25/05/2022.

The Plaintiff sought the following reliefs:

1. A DECLARATION that the purported withdrawal of the Plaintiff as the validly nominated gubernatorial candidate of the 1st Defendant in Ebonyi State for the 2023 general elections and the purported substitution of the Plaintiff with any other person as the gubernatorial candidate of Labour Party in Ebonyi State for the 2023 general election is unlawful and a gross violation of the provisions of Section 31 and 33 of the Electoral Act, 2022.
2. A DECLARATION that the appointment of the 4th Defendant as the State Chairman of Labour Party in Ebonyi State by the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants is a violation of Articles 7 and 17(iii) of the Labour Party Constitution (As amended, 2019) and the Plaintiff’s appointment letter dated 25/05/2022.
3. AN ORDER of injunction restraining the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants from forwarding the name of any other person apart from the name of the Plaintiff to the 5th Defendant as the gubernatorial candidate of Labour Party in Ebonyi State without a valid written withdrawal letter signed by the Plaintiff and delivered personally to the 1st Defendant by the Plaintiff as stipulated in Section 31 and 33 of the Electoral Act, 2022.
4. AN ORDER of injunction restraining the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants from recognizing or parading any other person as the gubernatorial candidate of Labour Party in Ebonyi State without a valid written withdrawal letter signed by the Plaintiff and delivered personally to the 1st Defendant by the Plaintiff as stipulated in Section 31 and 33 of the Electoral Act, 2022.
5. AN ORDER of injunction restraining the 5th Defendants from recognizing or publishing the name of any other person apart from the Plaintiff as the gubernatorial candidate of Labour Party in Ebonyi State without valid written withdrawal letter signed by the Plaintiff and delivered personally to the 1st Defendant by the Plaintiff as stipulated in Section 31 of the Electoral Act, 2022.
6. AN ORDER of injunction restraining the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants from parading the 4th Defendant as the State Chairman of Labour Party in Ebonyi State during the subsistence of the tenure of the Plaintiff from 25/5/2022 to 25/8/2022.
7. AN ORDER of injunction restraining the 4th Defendant from parading himself or allowing himself to be paraded by anybody as the State Chairman of Labour Party in Ebonyi State during the subsistence of the tenure of the Plaintiff from 25/5/2022 to 25/8/2022.

In the judgement, Justice Riman noted that the Plaintiff’s tenure as caretaker committee chairman had not expired when another caretaker committee was appointed.

He held the act as a nullity which has no legal consequence, a void act, an act which has no legal consequence.

Ruling he stated as follows: “I have examined Exhibit MO 2 Appointment of Caretaker Committee which is for a period of 3 months in line with the Constitution of the Labour Party.

“I have examined and perused also Exhibit MO 6 dated 7th July, 2022 and titled “Dissolution and appointment of Caretaker Committee in Ebonyi State.

“It is not in doubt that the Plaintiffs tenure as caretaker committee chairman had not expired when another caretaker committee was appointed.

“It must be noted that an act which is a nullity has no legal consequence. A nullity is, in law a void act, an act which has no legal consequence.

“The act is not only bad, but incurably bad. In the instant case, the appointment of the 4th Defendant as caretaker committee chairman when the tenure of the Plaintiff was yet to lapse did not confer him with any being complete nullity.”

He made a caricature of “the political tendencies in Nigeria that when there is a change in the affair of a party or leadership or even government of the country or state, then all existing members of that party, its Excos/Committee or government put in place by a previous leadership/Exco must willy-nilly be changed by the new leadership or government”.

According to him, it “smacks of kindergarten approach to administration and counterproductive to Constitutional democracy.”

Justice Riman, therefore, held that the election “conducted during the pendency of this suit or any other day thereof is of no consequence and therefore a nullity”.

The ruling leaves Eze Oko as the substantive Labour Party gubernatorial candidate in Ebonyi State.

Presently, calls are on the national leadership of the party from certain quarters to bring all parties together to resolve the issues to get a consensus candidate, failure of which there should be fresh primaries in line with the Electoral Act.

To know the genesis of the Ebonyi State Labour Party debacle, read:

Save Ebonyi State Labour Party, members send SOS to Peter Obi (part 1)

…and,

Ebonyi Labour Party members beg Peter Obi to save state chapter (part 2)

…as well as,

2023: INEC affirms Nkwegu as Ebonyi LP guber candidate amidst controversy

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