Again, Atiku's Associates Ask Judge To Stop Jonathan
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 20, (THEWILL) – Three outspoken critics of President Goodluck Jonathan and associates of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and the controversial political association, the Northern Political Leaders Forum (NPLF) today played out a fresh plot to stop President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2011 Presidential election under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The PDP politicians namely; Ambassador Yahaya Kwande, Honourable Dubem Onyia and Alhaji Lawal Kaita have asked Justice Ishaq Bello of an Abuja High Court to restrain the PDP and its National Chairman, Dr. Okwesileze Nwodo, from presenting Jonathan as the party’s Presidential candidate.
The politicians have urged the court to also restrain Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognizing President Goodluck Jonathan as the party’s presidential candidate.
The move is coming following series of endorsements and overwhelming support for President Goodluck Jonathan by PDP delegates and PDP governors of the party who are scheduled to cast their votes for Jonathan at the primaries in January.
Justice Ishaq Bello has however fixed January 4 for the hearing of the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs have hinged their case on Sections 13 and 15(a), (c) and (f) of the 3rd schedule of the 1999 Constitution, Sections 86(1) and (2) and 67(9) and (10) of the Electoral Act 2010, arguing that INEC has a constitutional duty to force the PDP to execute Article 7.2(c) of the party’s constitution to the fullest.
They want the court to declare that by a resolution reached by the National Causus of the party on December 02, 2002, the party must present a northerner as its candidate and that president Jonathan is not from the north.
“The resolution of the National Caucus of the 1st Defendant of December 2, 2002, the 4th defendant is bound to reject any candidate presented by the 1st defendant, including the 3rd defendant, in contravention of and total disregard to the provision of Article 7.2(c) of the 1st defendant’s Constitution,” they argued.
Justice Lawal Gumi of an Abuja High Court in November while acknowledging that zoning is enshrined in the party’s constitution, had ruled that it could not compel the party to obey its resolution or constitution as it was too vague and lacked specifics with regards to zoning.