Electoral Act has helped in reducing frivolous cases

The 2022 Electoral Act has helped in streamlining the class of [people who can go to Court to challenge the conduct or outcome of party primaries unlike what obtains before where every Tom, Dick and Harry can come out to challenge results of primary elections.

Legal Practitioner and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Babatunde Ogala, disclosed this while speaking to TVC News Yori Folarin on the programme This Morning on Tuesday Morning.

Mr Ogala said unlike before where frivolous cases were brought before the Courts by anybody, the Electoral Act has helped in putting a stop to that.

Mr Ogala said the only persons who have the locus standi to challenge a primary Election outcomes within parties now are those who participated and they according to him are also eligible to challenge the administrative decisions of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

He added that Political Parties according to the Electoral Act 2022 also have the Locus Standi to challenge the decisions of the Election Management Body they are dissatisfied with in Court.

He also disclosed that at the last Count he has handled more than 10 cases against the All Progressives Congress by the Action Alliance seeking the disqualification of the party’s Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, with the Allied Peoples Movement, also having a case against the All Progressives Congress, in Lagos seeking the disqualification of the Governorship, Deputy Governorship and all House of Assembly and Other candidates of the party in Lagos State dismissed.

He added that the Peoples Democratic Party has also had 3 cases against the All Progressives Congress’s internal affairs have all been dismissed.

He disclosed that the PDP in Lagos also had a case seeking the disqualification of the Governorship, Deputy Governorship and all House of Assembly candidates of the All Progressives Congress in the State.

He said the abuse of Pre-Election litigation should stop as it has gotten to ridiculous levels with CSO’s, Aspirants and Others all involved in the abuse.

He however commended the framers of the 2022 Electoral Act for the restriction which has ensured that frivolous cases are dismissed for what they are.

He described the Court processes filed by some parties who have no locus standi to go to court over such matters as signs of desperation to ensure they get their major threat out of the way.

On the controversy surrounding the recent judgment of the Supreme Court on the Candidacy of the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, against Bashir Machina for the Yobe North Senatorial Ticket of the All Progressives Congress, Mr Ogala said the law is the law and people should respect that.

He said the issue of jurisdiction was the main matter of contest before the Supreme Court which includes many things including evidence adding that the Court process was commenced with the wrong instruments giving the Supreme Court no option but to deliver judgment in favour of Ahmad Lawan.

He said most of the provisions of the Electoral were not complied with leading to the confusion being experienced by most Nigerians.

He said the spirit of the law must be complied with to ensure that they are properly dealt with.

He disclosed that the Supreme Court did not pronounce the President of the Senate the winner but only made clear that the National Body of the All Progressives Congress did not organise the primary from where Machina emerged which is against the Law.

He added that the All Progressives Congress National Executives in their argument said Ahmad Lawan emerged from the primary they organised.

According to him, the major reason many have been making unnecessary noise about the matter is due to ignorance even in Lawyers who should know.