Council Poll: NCP Assures Of Victory At A’ Court

THE National Conscience Party (NCP) has said that no Court judgment could upturn the genuine ruling it got from the High Court in the suit against the Lagos State government and the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC).

It also berated the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government of deliberately killing time and surreptitiously doing everything possible to conduct the election in the next two months.

Recall that Justice Abdulfatai Lawal of the Lagos High Court, on October 23, 2015, while delivering judgment in a suit filed by NCP against the state and LASIEC, ordered for council election to hold within 30 days. He also ordered the dismantling of the caretaker committees in the 57 councils, declaring such system as illegal and unconstitutional.

The case, instituted by the party in January 2014, was also used to request for an order of mandamus to direct the electoral umpire to conduct election into the councils.

At the resumed hearing last Monday, January 18, the State High Court sitting in Igbosere, declined further jurisdiction in the matter. The counsel representing the State’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, informed that the records of appeal had been transmitted to the Appeal Court, thereby ousting the jurisdiction of the High Court to continue with the matter in accordance with Order 4 Rule 10 and 11 of the Court of Appeal Rules 2011.

The trial judge, who agreed with the argument, held that indeed, his court had become functus officio of the matter and subsequently declined jurisdiction.

According to the matter, the state government and LASIEC are contending that unless the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) gave voters register to LASIEC, election cannot be conducted in the state.

They argued further that the delay in the conduct of elections into the local governments could not be blamed on government, and thereby urged the court to dismiss the case.

The National Secretary of NCP, Comrade Ayodele Akele, in a chat with The Guardian, described the APC-led government as embarrassing, saying it is fond of displaying impunity, disobeying and sidelining court orders, as well as maneuvering things at the expense of justice.

“Now, we are waiting for the Appeal Court to give us a date, that is the tragedy. 30 days would have passed and they would be grandstanding that they have appealed. They don’t have anything to offer, you would have been seeing posters of aspirants, they are rushing to construct roads in each council area, because they don’t have anything to canvass, they refused to conduct election and still want to hold on to the illegal caretaker committee put in place there.

“This same voter’s register being contested was used to bring in Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and other political office holders. We are waiting for them, and I can assure you that there would be no court judgment that would upturn the genuine ruling of the lower court because it is a constitutional provision. We have appealed to our members not to be disturbed,” he said.

Akele stated that many utterances of the APC Secretary that no court can force them to conduct the election, is a contempt of court, noting that they have filed a case against APC on that.