The Supreme Court yesterday promised to hear and determine a subsisting appeal filed by Mr Rotimi Amaechi challenging the decision by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party to substitute his name with Omehia for the state�s governorship race.
A Federal high court sitting in Abuja had frowned at the conduct of the party but refused to void the substitution of his name by the ruling PDP while the Court of Appeal which entertained his appeal struck out his entire case on the grounds that he (Amaechi) lacked locus to sustain the suit having been expelled from PDP.
Amaechi had gone to the Supreme Court with another appeal to set aside the judgment of both the Court of Appeal in the case.
Because of the nature of his appeal, he had also filed an application seeking for leave to appeal the lower court�s judgment but the opposing parties filed a preliminary objection challenging the validity of his appeal.
The apex court has consequently ordered all parties in the case yesterday to file their written briefs to the preliminary application by Amaechi seeking for leave to appeal the judgment of the Court of Appeal so that the substantive appeal could be heard and determined in time.
The court said yesterday that time was of essence, the matter being a pre-election case.
The opposing parties in the case are expected to meet in court next Tuesday.
Vanguard recalls that at the last adjourned date, the apex court had ordered Amaechi to serve all court processes in the case on the governor-elect of Rivers state, Mr Omehia. The order came after Amaechi�s counsel, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi SAN had told the court that Omehia refused to take the court�s processes from the bailiff sent to effect service on him.
Under the rules of court, substituted service is deemed as good service.
Fagbemi told the court that unless the court ordered a substituted service, Omehia would continue to evade service and that trial in the case would be stalled.
Consequently, Justice Niki Tobi who presided over the appeal ordered that the processes be served on Omehia via publication in a newspaper.
After winning the PDP�s primaries for the Rivers State governorship race, Amaechi�s name was submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission only for it to be substituted later with that of Omehia.
Aggrieved by the substitution, he filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja for the following reliefs:
(1) A declaration that the option of changing or substituting a candidate whose name is already submitted to INEC by a political party is only available to political party and/or the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under the electoral Act, 2006, only the candidate is disqualified by a Court Order.
(2) A declaration that under Section 32(5) of the Electoral Act, 2006 it is only a Court of law, by an Order that can disqualify a duly nominated candidate of a political party whose name and particulars have been published in accordance with section 32(3) of the Electoral Act, 2006.
(3) A declaration that under the Electoral Act, 2006, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has no power to screen, verify or disqualify a candidate once the candidate�s political party has done its own screening and submitted the name of the Plaintiff or any candidate to the Independent national electoral Commission (INEC), among others
(4) A declaration that the only way Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) can disqualify, change or substitute a duly nominate candidate of a political party is by court Order.
5) A declaration that under section 32(5) of the Electoral Act, 2006 it is only a Court of Law, after a law suit, that can disqualify a candidate and it is only after a candidate is disqualified by a Court Order, that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) can change or substitute a duly nominated candidate.
(6) A declaration that there are no cogent and verifiable reasons for the Ist and 3rd Defendants to change the name of the Plaintiff with that of the 2nd defendant as the candidate of the People�s Democratic Party (PDP) for the April, 13, 2007 Governorship Election in River State.
(7) An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants jointly and severally by themselves, their agents, privies or assigns from changing or substituting the name of the plaintiff as the River State Peoples Democratic party Governorship candidate for the April, 2007 River State Governorship Election unless or until a court order is made disqualifying the Plaintiff and or until cogent and verifiable reasons are given as required under section 34(2) of the Electoral Act, 2006.
He joined INEC as 1st defendant, Omehia as 2nd defendant and PDP as 3rd defendant.
The high court refused his claim.
While the case was pending at the high court, PDP gave effect to the substitution.
This irked the court which viewed the action of the party as overreaching the court.
The court consequently set aside the substitution but refused to grant Amaechi�s claims.
He appealed to the Court of Appeal. But the Appeal Court took the view that his case was the same with the appeal filed by Senator Ifeanyinwa Ararume at the Supreme Court and chose to wait for the Supreme Court to decide Ararume�s appeal first.
But before the Supreme Court could deliver judgment, Amaechi was expelled from the PDP.
The Court of Appeal then held that the appeal filed by Amaechi had lapsed since he was no longer a member of the PDP.
Amaechi was aggrieved by this decision and consequently appealed to the Supreme Court.
The apex court had yesterday adjourned the case till May 8.