By Innocent Anaba

The Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos has adjourned to June 15, 2015 for hearing in the preliminary objection by former Lagos State Secretary of All Progressives Congress, APC, Wasiu Eshilokun, challenging the bid by his opponent, Hakeem Masha to amend the appeal he filed in the suit over Lagos Island Constituency 1 of the Lagos State House of Assembly.

Eshilokun and Masha (both APC members) are currently locked in fierce battle over the assembly seat.
Eshilokun had polled 186 votes to beat seven other candidates in the primary election conducted by the APC to select a candidate for Lagos Island Constituency 1.

However, he was substituted with Masha, who polled 70 votes, thus forcing the applicant (Eshilokun) to head to the Federal High Court in Lagos.
Justice Ibrahim Buba in his judgement, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to recognise Eshilokun as the candidate of the party, saying the evidence before him showed clearly that he (Eshilokun) won the APC primary, and that same was not controverted.
Dissatisfied, Masha, through his lawyer, appealed the verdict, and urged the appellate court to upturn same.

At the hearing in the matter, yesterday, Masha indicated interest in amending one of the three notices of appeal which he filed.
But Eshilokun’s lawyer, Waha Shittu opposed same, arguing that the move was an attempt to place something on nothing.
Shittu pointed out that Masha filed three notices of appeal. One was dated March 6; the second, March 26 and the third, May 14.

He argued that those of March 6 and 26 were wrongly headed the Federal High Court, whereas they were for Appeal Court.

The May 14 notice, according to Shittu, was incompetent abnitio, and so the question of amendment does not even arise.
He said the notice was of mixed law and facts, and that the leave of court was required before such notice could be filed, which was not done in the instant case.

However, INEC’s lawyer asked for time to respond to the amendment, an application that prompted the court presided over by Justice Sidi Bage to adjourn till June 15.