An Abuja Federal High Court yesterday refused the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) application to disallow the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from conducting the rescheduled governorship election in Cross River State today.
The court ruled that INEC can conduct the election as scheduled because the plaintiffs in the suit did not disclose any reasonable cause of action to warrant it to stop the commission from conducting the election.
The judge, Justice Mohammed Umar, while refusing the applications said the plaintiffs failed on all grounds to convince the court because they did not make an undertaking to guarantee that they would pay damages if they lost the case to the defendants.
The governorship candidate of the ANPP in the state, Dr. Paul Uko had in hid application, asked the court to stop INEC from conducting the election on grounds that proper arrangements were not being put in place to ensure a free and fair election.
The party had also alleged in the application that INEC was not transparent, “and cannot in all fairness, conduct the election because it has breached the due process that could lead to a free and fair poll.”
Before refusing the application, Justice Umar adjourned ruling on the application to yesterday after hearing arguments for and against it on Thursday.
The ANPP counsel, Mr Felix Ofia, had told the court that it is against the Electoral Act for an election to hold in a state without the Commission making a list of voters available to political parties.
He alleged that the electoral body, “failed to compile, maintain, and update the register of voters to reflect the persons entitled to vote because it is bent on rigging the election in favour of the PDP.”
Counsel to the Cross River State government, Paul Erokoro (SAN), together with INEC�s counsel Mr Rasheed Yusuf, told the court to discountenance the application because it has no jurisdiction to entertain the application. They also said if the plaintiffs were serious they would have filed their suit against election long before now.