This is a week of judgments, a crucial week in the democratisation process in Nigeria. Yesterday, the governor of Abia State, Chief Theodore Orji, lost at the Election Petitions Tribunal. Today, the president and three governors will know their fate.
The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja will deliver judgment in the petitions filed by the presidential candidate of the Action Congress (AC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and his All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) counterpart, Major General Muham-madu Buhari (rtd.) seeking the annulment of the election of President Umaru Musa Yar�Adua.
Both candidates alleged electoral malpractices in the April 21 presidential election which produced Yar�Adua.
Today�s judgment will determine whether Yar�Adua will remain as the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria or have to prepare for another election � although he has the appeal option to follow in the event that the verdict does not favour him.
In the same vein, four state governors, Jonah Jang (Plateau), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), and Mamman Ali (Yobe) will know what fate holds for them today as the Appeal Court delivers judgments in their respective cases.
Following the decision of the election tribunal sitting in Jos, the Plateau State capital, which struck out the petition brought before it by the AC governorship candidate, Pam Gyang, at the last election, on technical grounds, the petitioner had filed an appeal, praying the Court of Appeal to override the decision of the tribunal. Gyang�s case was struck out on the ground that he failed to file the petition within 30 days as stipulated by the 2006 Electoral Act.
Also, Nyako had appealed the October 2007 judgment of the election petitions tribunal sitting in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, which annulled his election. Today�s judgment will either give him the leverage to stay on in power or show him the way out of the Government House which he has inhabited for almost 10 months.
Nyako�s election was annulled by the tribunal following the petition filed by AC candidate, Ibrahim Bapetel, contesting his exclusion from the April 14 election in the state by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the eve of the election.
Nyako had prayed the Appeal Court to upturn the election of the lower tribunal and return him as the substantive governor.
The Adamawa tribunal had held that INEC lacked powers to exclude any candidate from contesting any election and hence ordered a fresh election, which must include Bapetel, within 90 days. But dissatisfied with the judgment, Nyako headed for the Appeal Court, asking it to nullify the judgment of the tribunal.
However, the case in Yobe is a little bit different from the other two, because it is an intra-party contest which began before the April 14 gubernatorial election. Prior to the emergence of Ali as the ANPP�s governorship candidate in the state, Senator Usman Al-Bishir had emerged the winner of ANPP governorship primaries, but was later substituted by the party after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) published his name along with that of other indicted public officers over one allegation of corruption or the other. He was therefore replaced by Ali.
After Ali had emerged governor from the April 14 election, Al-Bishir took his petition to the tribunal sitting in Damaturu, but his case was struck out, and dissatisfied by the manner his case was struck out, the former senator proceeded to the Appeal Court.
Ali�s election is also being challenged at the same Court of Appeal by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Alhaji Adamu Waziri. Like the case of Al-Bishir, the tribunal struck out his petition, prompting Waziri to seek a redress at the Appeal Court.
Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal has approved the live coverage of today’s judgment of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal, the Acting Chief Registrar, Mr Bode Thomas, said in Abuja in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). �I agree this is novel, and it is the first time a court sitting will be allowed to be transmitted live to members of the public. We approve this because of the importance of this case to our country and our democracy and because we want to show to the world that we are transparent,” he said. �We also want to give Nigerians the opportunity of lying down in the bosom of their beds and listen to this all important judgment,� he said.
Thomas said clearance had been given to NTA, AIT, Raypower, Channels Television and FRCN to broadcast the judgment live. He, however, said that they would not allow the cameramen to zoom-in on the panel members for security purposes.
�The judges are not to be seen. This is one of the reasons for their wigs, beside the symbol of justice is a blind woman. Therefore, their identities will not be made public,” he said.
Feb262008