Posted by By GODWIN TSA, Abuja on
President Umaru Musa Yar' Adua and his deputy, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan have described the petition filed by the presidential candidate of Hope Democratic Party (HDP), Chief Ambrose Owuru, challenging the outcome of the April 21 presidential elections as hopeless and legally incompetent as he urged the presidential election tribunal to strike it out.
President Umaru Musa Yar' Adua and his deputy, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan have described the petition filed by the presidential candidate of Hope Democratic Party (HDP), Chief Ambrose Owuru, challenging the outcome of the April 21 presidential elections as hopeless and legally incompetent as he urged the presidential election tribunal to strike it out.
Similarly, the two senior citizens have also asked the tribunal to strike out the petition brought against them and their party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), by the presidential candidate of the African Liberation Party (ALP), Chief Emmanuel Osita Okereke on similar grounds.
While Owuru is challenging the elections on the grounds that the election is invalid for reasons of fraud and non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2006, Okereke had gone to the tribunal to challenge the election of Yar'Adua and Vice President Goodluck Jonathan on the grounds that he was disfranchised and wrongfully denied participation in the presidential polls.
The fulcrum of his petition is that his photograph and his party's logo were omitted on the ballot papers used by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the April 21 polls contrary to the provisions of the Electoral Act 2006.
In addition, he is further challenging the elections on the grounds that the president and his deputy were not qualified to have stood for the said polls having been indicted by an administrative panel set up by the Abia State government, which indictment, he said has not been set aside by a competent court. He urged the court to nullify the elections.
He also argued that President Yar'Adua and Vice President Jonathan did not resign their positions as governors 30 days before the elections as provided by the constitution.
But in their notice of preliminary objections raised in the petitions, the president and his vice prayed the tribunal to strike out the petitions on the grounds of incompetence.
The notice of objections, which was moved by their team of lawyers led by former National President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Chief Wole Olanikpekun (SAN) with Damien Dodo (SAN), Yusuf Ali (SAN) and others picked holes in the petitions contending that the two petitions were legally incompetent.
In the case of the petition by Hope Democratic party, Chief Olanikpekun submitted that the reliefs sought by the petitioner are at large, nebulous and convey no benefit to the petitioner.
Contending that a court of law can never make an order in vain, he submitted that by virtue of paragraphs 14 (2) (a) (I) to the first schedule to the Electoral Act 2006, the prayers cannot be granted nor amended rendering the petition defeated and hopeless.
His words, 'the petition filed by the Hope Democratic Party is hopeless, incompetent, academic, hypothetical, mute and should accordingly be struck out."
He also contended that the INEC Chairman, Prof. Maurice Iwu who was cited as 2nd respondent in Owuru's petition, is not a juristic person and cannot be sued in his personal capacity by virtue of section 28 (2) (h) of the electoral Act 2006.
Apart from the president and his vice, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other respondents equally urged the court to strike out the petitions.
But, the two petitioners, on their part urged the tribunal to discountenance the submissions of the respondents and hear their petitions on merit.
The tribunal Chairman Justice James Ogebe, had while adjourning the matters to August 20, 2007 for ruling consolidated the preliminary objections brought by Yar'adua and INEC challenging the HDP petition.