December 16, 2009
Nigeria’s Supreme Court today gave a new lease to the governorship dreams of former Central Bank governor, Charles Chukwuma Soludo, ruling that he should be restored as a candidate in the forthcoming Anambra governorship election scheduled for February 6, 2010.
Only yesterday, a panel of the Court of Appeal in Abuja headed by Justice Mary Odili had reaffirmed its earlier ruling that struck Mr. Soludo’s name from the list of candidates. Mrs. Odili had restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission from recognizing the former Central Bank Governor as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the forthcoming election in Anambra state. The Justice Odili led Court of Appeal also restrained Soludo from parading himself or holding out himself as the candidate of the party for the election and ordered him to desist from any form of campaign activities for the said election. But in a stunning unanimous decision delivered by a five-man panel, the Supreme Court this afternoon set aside that restraining order granted against Soludo and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). In setting aside the orders of the Court of Appeal, the apex court observed that the orders granted by the appellate court were unwarranted and calculated to deny Soludo and the Peoples Democratic Party of the opportunity to participate in the Anambra state election. The Supreme Court directed INEC to recognize Mr. Soludo as the candidate of the PDP and to accord him every privilege he is entitled to as a candidate for the election. The apex court slammed the Court of Appeal for abdicating the issue placed before it, which was the issue of jurisdiction, before embarking on a voyage of issuance of restraining orders. The court further noted that the subordinate court lacked the powers to make the orders excluding Mr. Soludo and the PDP from the governorship contest. It maintained that a court without jurisdiction should not make orders. The Supreme Court went ahead to hold that, pending the determination of the substantive matter pending at the Court of Appeal, Mr. Soludo’s status as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party remains unfettered. The court observed that the Court of Appeal jumped the gun by making an order or orders it has no duty to make. It stated that, after weighing the time sensitivity of the subject matter, it had decided that vacating the orders would best serve the interests of justice. According to INEC’s schedule, tomorrow is the deadline for governorship candidates to return nomination forms. The Supreme Court’s decision, which is seen as a setback for INEC chairman Maurice Iwu and Emmanuel Nnamdi (Andy) Uba, the governorship candidate of the Labour Party, is also likely to radically reshape the political configurations in Anambra. Our sources said the INEC chairman and Mr. Uba had provided generous moral and financial support to the PDP members who filed a lawsuit seeking a declaration that Soludo’s selection as the PDP’s flag bearer was done in an irregular manner. Umaru Yar’adua, his wife Turai, Tony Anenih (former chairman of the PDP board of trustees), Nigeria’s most notorious cross-border smuggler, Mr. Dahiru Mangal, and former Vice President Alex Ekwueme were among PDP chieftains who imposed Soludo as the party’s candidate following botched primaries. A source within the PDP headquarters told Saharareporters that Mr. Soludo is highly unpopular within the party, but that Anenih and the Yar’aduas told PDP chairman Vincent Ogbulafor that they wanted the former Central banker on the governorship ticket by all means. Mr. Soludo’s tenure as CBN governor is still regarded as scandal-ridden and marked by lax regulation that allowed many bank CEOs to authorize billions in bad loans to their friends, business associates, or politically connected people. The former CBN governor also reportedly made a huge fortune in various financial deals, including some involving the African Finance Corporation that he ran. Mr. Iwu has told close associates that he would frustrate Soludo’s governorship aspirations. The two men quarreled over contracts for ballot papers for the 2007 elections, after Soludo convinced then President Olusegun Obasanjo to let the Central Bank handle the contracts. The simmering feud became exacerbated when Soludo spoke derogatorily about Iwu during a meeting with Obasanjo. Mr. Uba, who garnered a dizzying wealth while overseeing deals in the oil sector on behalf of Obasanjo, has vowed to use his wealth to bury Soludo and his supporters politically. Uba, who is particularly irked by Ekwueme’s support for Soludo, has described the former VP as “a political prostitute with no political weight,” according to a source close to Mr. Uba. Uba recently snatched up the governorship ticket of the Labour Party following the collapse of his efforts to convince various courts to pronounce him “governor-in-waiting.” Saharareporters had disclosed that part of Uba’s strategy is to buy up smaller political parties to declare support for him as a way of creating the impression that he is widely acceptable in Anambra. Two days ago, a splinter group from the PPA led by Emeka Etiaba became the first group to announce its endorsement of Uba.
Only yesterday, a panel of the Court of Appeal in Abuja headed by Justice Mary Odili had reaffirmed its earlier ruling that struck Mr. Soludo’s name from the list of candidates. Mrs. Odili had restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission from recognizing the former Central Bank Governor as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the forthcoming election in Anambra state. The Justice Odili led Court of Appeal also restrained Soludo from parading himself or holding out himself as the candidate of the party for the election and ordered him to desist from any form of campaign activities for the said election. But in a stunning unanimous decision delivered by a five-man panel, the Supreme Court this afternoon set aside that restraining order granted against Soludo and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). In setting aside the orders of the Court of Appeal, the apex court observed that the orders granted by the appellate court were unwarranted and calculated to deny Soludo and the Peoples Democratic Party of the opportunity to participate in the Anambra state election. The Supreme Court directed INEC to recognize Mr. Soludo as the candidate of the PDP and to accord him every privilege he is entitled to as a candidate for the election. The apex court slammed the Court of Appeal for abdicating the issue placed before it, which was the issue of jurisdiction, before embarking on a voyage of issuance of restraining orders. The court further noted that the subordinate court lacked the powers to make the orders excluding Mr. Soludo and the PDP from the governorship contest. It maintained that a court without jurisdiction should not make orders. The Supreme Court went ahead to hold that, pending the determination of the substantive matter pending at the Court of Appeal, Mr. Soludo’s status as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party remains unfettered. The court observed that the Court of Appeal jumped the gun by making an order or orders it has no duty to make. It stated that, after weighing the time sensitivity of the subject matter, it had decided that vacating the orders would best serve the interests of justice. According to INEC’s schedule, tomorrow is the deadline for governorship candidates to return nomination forms. The Supreme Court’s decision, which is seen as a setback for INEC chairman Maurice Iwu and Emmanuel Nnamdi (Andy) Uba, the governorship candidate of the Labour Party, is also likely to radically reshape the political configurations in Anambra. Our sources said the INEC chairman and Mr. Uba had provided generous moral and financial support to the PDP members who filed a lawsuit seeking a declaration that Soludo’s selection as the PDP’s flag bearer was done in an irregular manner. Umaru Yar’adua, his wife Turai, Tony Anenih (former chairman of the PDP board of trustees), Nigeria’s most notorious cross-border smuggler, Mr. Dahiru Mangal, and former Vice President Alex Ekwueme were among PDP chieftains who imposed Soludo as the party’s candidate following botched primaries. A source within the PDP headquarters told Saharareporters that Mr. Soludo is highly unpopular within the party, but that Anenih and the Yar’aduas told PDP chairman Vincent Ogbulafor that they wanted the former Central banker on the governorship ticket by all means. Mr. Soludo’s tenure as CBN governor is still regarded as scandal-ridden and marked by lax regulation that allowed many bank CEOs to authorize billions in bad loans to their friends, business associates, or politically connected people. The former CBN governor also reportedly made a huge fortune in various financial deals, including some involving the African Finance Corporation that he ran. Mr. Iwu has told close associates that he would frustrate Soludo’s governorship aspirations. The two men quarreled over contracts for ballot papers for the 2007 elections, after Soludo convinced then President Olusegun Obasanjo to let the Central Bank handle the contracts. The simmering feud became exacerbated when Soludo spoke derogatorily about Iwu during a meeting with Obasanjo. Mr. Uba, who garnered a dizzying wealth while overseeing deals in the oil sector on behalf of Obasanjo, has vowed to use his wealth to bury Soludo and his supporters politically. Uba, who is particularly irked by Ekwueme’s support for Soludo, has described the former VP as “a political prostitute with no political weight,” according to a source close to Mr. Uba. Uba recently snatched up the governorship ticket of the Labour Party following the collapse of his efforts to convince various courts to pronounce him “governor-in-waiting.” Saharareporters had disclosed that part of Uba’s strategy is to buy up smaller political parties to declare support for him as a way of creating the impression that he is widely acceptable in Anambra. Two days ago, a splinter group from the PPA led by Emeka Etiaba became the first group to announce its endorsement of Uba.
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