by Ebere Agozie
The Supreme Court has struck out a suit seeking the disqualification of the president-elect, Bola Tinubu and his vice president-elect, Kashim Shettima, over alleged double nomination.
The appeal was filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) through their counsel, Mike Ozekhome (SAN).
The PDP alleged that Shettima had double nomination as senatorial candidate for Borno Central Senatorial District and vice-presidential candidate under the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Delivering judgment, Justice Adamu Jauro slammed a fine of N2m on PDP for ‘pokenosing’ in the internal affairs of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the conduct of its primary elections and nomination of its candidates.
The apex court held that the PDP’S suit praying disqualification of Tinubu and Shetima on ground of alleged double nomination by Shetima was grossly lacking in merit and dismissed it.
It agreed with Tinubu’s lawyer, Chief Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, that PDP acted as busy body and meddlesome interloper in the APC’S affairs unjustly.
It held that apart from the fact that PDP lacked requisite jurisdiction to institute the suit, the party also failed to provide scintilla of evidence that Shetima engaged in double nomination.
“The claim of PDP on the alleged double nomination of the Vice President-elect was is most unfortunate and a clear deliberate mischief to mislead the Court and the country.
“No matter the pains of the PDP on how APC conducted it’s primary elections and nominated its candidates, PDP must remain an onlooker.
“It is abundantly clear that the Appellant (PDP) in the totality of its position in the instant case, is peeping and poke nosing into the affairs of another party as a busy body and meddlesome interloper”, the court held.
The court held that the action of PDP was painful because it used the social media to set a booby trap for the Supreme Court to blackmail it.
It described the move as most unfortunate, unwarranted and uncalled for. (NAN)
