The Federal High Court in Abeokuta, the state capital had in September nullified all the parallel governorship primaries held by PDP in the state as it ruled that the primaries did not follow the principles of the Electoral Act, 2022. The court ordered that a rerun should be conducted within 14 days.
The Supreme Court has ordered the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to retry the lawsuit challenging the conduct and outcome of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), primary election for the nomination of its governorship candidate in Ogun State.
The Federal High Court in Abeokuta, the state capital had in September nullified all the parallel governorship primaries held by PDP in the state as it ruled that the primaries did not follow the principles of the Electoral Act, 2022. The court ordered that a rerun should be conducted within 14 days.
Not satisfied with the ruling, one of the aspirants, Jimi Lawal, filed a suit before the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, challenging the delegates’ list used by the party in the conduct of the primary election on May 25.
But the trial judge at the Federal High Court, Justice Taiwo Taiwo, declined to hear the suit on the ground that it lacked jurisdiction.
On Monday, Justice Ibrahim Saulawa of the Supreme Court in a judgment held that it was wrong of the Federal High Court in Abuja to have declined jurisdiction when in actual fact the constitution of the country conferred jurisdiction on it.
A five-man panel of the apex court ordered that the suit be returned to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for reassignment to another judge and retrial.
Justice Saulawa therefore upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja which had in September held that the federal high court judge (now retired) was wrong to have declined jurisdiction to entertain Lawal’s suit.
The Supreme Court also ordered that the suit be expeditiously heard and fully determined within the time allowed by law.