A former Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, and Incorporated Trustees of Rights for All International, have asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to disqualify seeking presidential candidates of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu; and that of Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar.
The minister and the group also asked the court to declare Professor Nwajiuba as the authentic presidential candidate of the ruling APC.
The first to sixth defendants in the case with suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/942/22 are: the APC, the PDP, Tinubu, Atiku, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Nwajiuba, who purchased the APC presidential form for N100m, but polled only one vote at the June 8 primary, accused Tinubu of bribing delegates with dollars.
The plaintiffs also attached as evidence a video recording showing the immediate past Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, lamenting that delegates to the APC primary sold their votes.
“Those who voted at the APC primaries, who are they? They are ordinary Nigerians. The small money they got solved their immediate problem, now they are saying they made a mistake; you are now hearing different things,” Amaechi said at the 60th birthday celebration of Apostle Eugene Ogu, General Overseer of Abundant Life Evangel Mission, last week.
Based on the evidence, Nwajiuba and RAI presented 25 issues for determination by the court, according to The Punch on Friday.
The ex-minister asked the court to determine whether the composition of the delegates contravened Article 11(A) 12(1) and 13(1) of the constitution of the APC.
Mr Mwajiuba also asked the court to determine if the composition of the delegates at the PDP primary contravened Section 33(1) and (5) (c) of the constitution of the party.
The plaintiffs prayed the court to determine whether having regards to the clear unambiguous and express provisions and tenor of Sections 6(6) (A) (B) and (C) read alongside Section 15(5) of the 1999 Constitution, the court has the inherent judicial powers to nullify, cancel and declare as illegal the Presidential primaries of the APC and the PDP.
Mr Nwajiuba asked the court to determine if all the votes cast in favour of Tinubu and Atiku at the special national convention of the APC and PDP are illegal, null and void and of no effect whatsoever on the grounds of corruption and selling of delegate votes and voter inducement.
Lastly, the ex-minister prayed the court to decide if having regards to the express provisions of paragraphs 1 and 8 of the 5th schedule of the 1999 Constitution, the corrupt conducts of the “third defendant (Tinubu) and the 4th defendant (Atiku) in buying votes and corruptly inducing delegates with dollars and naira in various sums to secure their votes at the special national convention… disqualifies them from further seeking, contesting and holding the office of the President.”
Consequently, the ex-minister is seeking 26 reliefs including an order that the composition of delegates at the APC and the PDP was not properly constituted.
Specifically, Nwajiuba asked the court to rule that Atiku and Tinubu along with their agents bribed delegates with dollars and the votes they got should be declared illegal.
The plaintiffs are seeking a “declaration that the conduct of the 3rd (Tinubu) and 4th (Atiku) defendants who by way of corrupt inducements of delegates with US dollars which being a foreign currency and non-legal tender in Nigeria under the CBN Act… used the dollars for the inducement of votes in favour of the 3rd (Tinubu) and 4th (Atiku) defendants has rendered the votes they scored at the special convention of the 1st defendant (APC) and the 2nd defendant (PDP) illegal, void and invalid and of no effect whatsoever and thus inhibiting (Tinubu and Atiku) from benefiting from the proceeds of their gross illegalities.”
