3rd March, 2020
The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned until March 17, hearing in the application filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC), seeking reversal of its judgment which voided the the party’s participation in the 2019 general election in Zamfara State on grounds of invalid primary.
A seven-man panel led by Chief Justice of Nigeria, Tanko Muhammad presided over the review.
Respondents in the suit include Sen. Kabiru Marafa and 180 Zamfara APC candidates in the 2019 general election.
The APC is asking the apex court to review the consequential order which gave rise to the swearing in of candidates of the PDP into office from governorship to national and state house of assembly positions.
The apex court had in its judgment in 2019, voided the participation of the APC in the general election in Zamfara due to the party’s inability to conduct primary election as required by the law.
The court having declared all votes cast for the APC in various elective positions in the state as wasted votes, ordered that candidates of the party with the highest number of votes be sworn in as Governor, Senators, House of Representatives members as well as members of the Zamfara House of Assembly.
However, when the matter was called, it was discovered that some respondents in the suit were yet to be served with the Court’s processes as they were not in court nor represented by lawyer.
Although counsel to the APC, Chief Robert Clarke, SAN, informed the court that an affidavit of service on all respondents has been filed, the CJN said that there was no evidence to that effect since the affidavit was not in the Court’s record.
Clarke accordingly asked for a short adjournment to enable him do the needful.
Since the request was not opposed by counsel to the respondents, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, the Presiding Justice, subsequently adjourned until March 17 for hearing.