By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA —-The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, yesterday, struck out a suit that sought to disqualify the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Enugu State, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, from participating in the forthcoming gubernatorial poll in the state.

Justice Evoh Chukwu terminated further hearing on the matter, following a notice of discontinuance filed by the plaintiff, Dr. Samuel Maduka Onyishi, who is a chieftain of the PDP in the state and owner of Peace Mass Transit Limited.

Onyishi had in his suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1003/2014, prayed the Court to nullify the December 8, 2014, PDP governorship primary in Enugu State, citing alleged irregularities, especially with regards to the list of ad-hoc delegates used for the exercise. He prayed the court to void the primary election for being in breach of sections 87(4) (b) (I) of the Electoral Act and for non compliance with the electoral guidelines for primary elections 2014 of the PDP and its constitution.

The plaintiff alleged that Enugu State Electoral Panel of the PDP, in breach of a subsisting court judgment, discarded a list of duly elected delegates approved by a court of competent jurisdiction, and brought out a totally different list of delegates which they claimed was handed over to them by the leadership of the party.

He told the court that no valid gubernatorial primary election of the PDP took place in Enugu State on December 8, as no votes or results could have been recorded from the flawed delegates list.

More so, Dr. Onyishi, averred that upon realizing the illegality of using a different list from the one sanctioned by the court, some delegates conducted different primaries leading to a situation where the state now paraded three persons laying claim to being winners of the governoship primary election of the PDP in the state.

Consequently, he prayed the court to, among other things, determine whether having regard to the subsisting judgment of this honourable court in Suit No: FHC,/ABJ/CS/830/2014- Barrister Orji Chinenye Godwin & 2 Ors. (suing for themselves and on behalf of all the delegates elected on November 1, 2014 at the Ward Congress held for Enugu State) vs.

Peoples Democratic Party & 4 Ors, the PDP could lawfully and validly conduct her governorship primary election 2014 on December 8, 2015, for the forthcoming 2015 Enugu State governorship election, using a doctored list of delegated at variance with the list of delegates already sanctioned, endorsed and validated in the said Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/830/2014 by this honourable court.

Meanwhile, at the resumed sitting on the matter yesterday, the plaintiff, through his lawyer, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, notified the court of his decision to discontinue with the matter, adding that he had already lodged a Notice of Discontinuation to that effect pursuant to Order 50, Rule 2 (1) of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure Rules), 2009. The Notice dated March 24, 2014 and signed by his lawyer, Chief Uche, SAN, read: “Take Notice that the Plaintiff herein intends and do hereby discontinue wholly his suit against the Defendants”.

However, the PDP, through its lawyer Mr. Obiora Onya, argued that in the circumstance, the appropriate order for the court to make would be to dismiss the matter instead of just striking it out. The position of the PDP was also adopted by its governorship flag-bearer in the state, Ugwuanyi, who was also a defendant in the matter. Arguing through his counsel, Chief Patrick Ikwueto, SAN, the plaintiff equally relied on Order 50 of the Federal High Court Rule, and insisted that the matter ought to be dismissed, an argument opposed by the plaintiff’s lawyer who stressed that there was no need for dismissal of the case since his client had formally and unconditionally discontinued it.

Ruling on the matter, Justice Chukwu said he minded to strike out the suit with a caveat that the plaintiff would have to seek the leave of the Court before he could file a fresh case on the same subject matter. It will be recalled that the same court had on March 2, 2015, dismissed a similar suit filed before it by another governorship aspirant of the PDP in the state, Senator Ayogu Eze, who also laid claims to the party’s ticket, having emerged from a parallel primary election that held in the state.

Meantime, in the suit that was struck out yesterday, Onyishi had further beseeched the court to among other things, determine: “Whether the said gubernatorial primary election 2014 conducted by the party on the 8th day of December 2014 in Enugu State for the forthcoming 2015 Enugu State Governorship election in breach of sections 87(4) (b) (ii) and 87(9) of the Electoral Act 2010 ( as amended) and non- compliance with the Electoral Guidelines for Primary Elections 2014 of the 1st defendant, is valid.

“Whether the PDP can lawfully declare any person as the winner of the said primary election based on the results of the Gubernatorial Primary Election 2014 purportedly conducted by the party in Enugu State on the 8th day of December 2014 using a doctored list of delegates at variance with that sanctioned in the said above-said suit by this honourable court, in breach of sections 87(4)(b) (ii) and 87(9) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and non-compliance with the Electoral Guidelines of the 1st defendant.

“Whether the party can lawfully forward the name of any person/aspirant as having scores the highest number of votes cast or the winner of said gubernatorial primary election 2014 conducted by the 1st defendant on the 8th day of December 2014 in total disregard and contempt of the subsisting order of this honourable court in  Suit No: FHC,/ABJ/CS/830/2014- Barrister Orji Chinenye Godwin & 2 Ors. (suing for themselves and on behalf of all the delegates elected on the 1st day of November 2014 at the Ward Congress held for Enugu State) v. Peoples Democratic Party & 4 Ors.

As well as, “Whether the INEC can lawfully accept the name of any person forwarded unit by the PDP as the winner of the said gubernatorial primary election 2014 conducted by the 1st defendant on the 8th day of December 2014 and/or the candidate of the 1st defendant for the forthcoming Enugu State Governorship elections in contempt of the subsisting order of this court in  Suit No: FHC,/ABJ/CS/830/2014- Barrister Orji Chinenye Godwin & 2 Ors.

(suing for themselves and on behalf of all the delegates elected on the 1st day of November 2014 at the Ward Congress held for Enugu State) v. Peoples Democratic Party & 4 Ors, in the light of the provisions of section 87(4) (b) (ii) and 87(9) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended)”.