A Federal High Court in Abuja will today hear an application by Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele challenging the legal provisions against his 2023 presidential aspiration.
Justice Ahmed Mohammed has fixed the suit for hearing at 12 noon on Monday.
Emefiele sues INEC over alleged plan to disqualify him from primaries
In the originatng summons brought by his counsel, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), Emefiele is asking the court to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Attorney General of the Federation from stopping or precluding him from participating, voting or being voted for at the congress or convention of any political of his based on the provision of Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act, 2022.
Emefiele further wants the court to hold that he can only be governed by the provision of Section 137(1) and 318 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, “which requires a public officer seeking election into a political office to resign, withdraw, or retire from his appointment at least 30 days to the presidential election rather than by the provisions of Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act, 2022 or the guidelines, rules, criteria, measures or conditions made by the plaintiff’s political party or any other political party.”
Emefiele is arguing further that by the provisions of Section 84 (3) of the Electoral Act, 2022, “a political party can by its constituion, guidelines, or rules impose any nomination qualification or disqualification criteria, measures, conditions on any aspirant or candidate including the plaintiff herein (Emefiele), in the primaries or constitution, guidelines, or rules for nomination of its candidates for election besides those criteria as prescribed under sections 65, 65, 104, 107, 131, 137, 177, and 187 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
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