Photo: Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN
Plateau Polls: Edward Pwajok lied, PDP candidates all eligible, says Ozekhome,SAN
Nigeria’s foremost Constitutional Lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Mike Ozekhome, has rubbished comments credited to Mr Edward Pwajok, SAN, the deputy governorship candidate of Labour Party in Plateau State for Saturday’s gubernatorial elections.
Pwajok had reportedly claimed that all the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the March 18 elections in Plateau State were not validly nominated and voting for them would be a waste of votes because their victory would be annulled in court.
Periscope International recalls that Pwajok’s comments, which were apparently a deliberate politically orchestrated attempt to sway voters to his party two days to the polls, came long after the state’s PDP legal team had cleared the air on the issue and debunked a similar opposition fabricated falsehood.
Ozekhome, in a statement obtained on Friday, stressed that all PDP candidates in Plateau State were validly nominated under the extant provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.
According to the renowned legal luminary, the law is clear about the status of the party’s candidates for the election, adding that PDP followed its constitution with regard to the guidelines for the nomination of its candidates and all extant provisions of the Electoral Act.
He said, “Relatedly, Section 84(14) vests the power and locus standi of challenging the process to only aspirants of the party who contested the party primaries of the party. No other person has the locus to question the process”.
“All nominated candidates of the PDP in Plateau state will be on the Ballot for the election and such nomination by the party cannot be challenged even at the Election Petition Tribunal”.
“It is purely a domestic issue of the political parties and the tribunal lacks the jurisdiction to delve into such matters. Election matters are sue generis and such Pre-Election matters are statute barred.”
PDP had clearly explained and cited legal authorities, including the provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act, on which basis they were elected, that based on them, the nomination all all the party’s candidates were valid and they were competent candidates whose names would be on the Independent National Electoral Commission’s ballot papers.
The party had also called on its members to ignore the “fabricated, unfounded and unsubstantiated lies making the rounds in the social media,” and urged them to come out on Saturday enmasse to vote for the party’s governorship candidate, Mr Caleb Mutfwang, and all the state assembly candidates.
Don’t drag the leaned silk into Ur lies. Pwajok gave the position of the law which is true