One does not have to be a constitutional lawyer to be able to read and understand simple litigation arithmetic. The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP crisis in respect of the authentic candidates of the party in Edo State has reached its climax.
For us to understand the position of both groups, we have to look at the status of the courts’ judgements so far and the position of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
The Federal High Court, Benin on the 27th of September, 2022, passed a judgement ordering INEC to publish the names of the Obaseki’s group candidates as the authentic candidates of the party against the order of the Federal High Court Abuja. This judgement was appealed by the Legacy PDP.
In its judgement on the 23rd of November, 2022, the Court of Appeal Benin, found the Appeal meritorious but declined jurisdiction because of the incomplete transmission of records of Appeal which the Federal High Court Benin Registrar failed to do leaving the Appellants to carry out the transmission with the true certified copies issued to them by the court. The Court also set aside and struck out the Federal High Court Benin suit which it later revised on the 1st of December, 2022 by 4 pm to strike out the Appeal.
On the 1st of December 2022, by 10 am, Justice Inyang Ekwo of The Federal High Court Abuja, in a landmark judgement, ordered INEC to publish only the names of the Legacy PDP candidates as the authentic candidates of the party. The judge also tied his decision to the Appeal Court Benin judgement delivered on the 23rd of November, 2022.
With the decision of The Court of Appeal Benin to strike out the Appeal, the Obaseki’s group now has a Federal High Court Benin that is on shakey grounds because of the pronouncement of the Appeal Court that found the substantive case in favour of the Legacy PDP. But for the mischief of the Federal High Court Benin Registrar, the Appeal Court made it clear that it would have declared the Legacy PDP candidates as the authentic candidates of the party.
When a case is struck out, it means the suit returns back to its former state. So they have only the Federal High Court Benin judgement that currently has k-leg (apologies to Obj) in their favour. Their only hope now is to be declared winners on a fraud-induced technical ground and not on substantive grounds.
On the other hand, the Legacy PDP candidates have the pronouncement of the Supreme Court recognizing their delegates as the authentic delegates ( though the Apex Court declined jurisdiction), and they also have the pronouncement of the Court of Appeal Benin that found their Appeal meritorious ( though the court also declined jurisdiction on a controversial technical ground) and also the unassailable judgement of the Federal High Court Abuja all in their favour.
While the Legacy PDP are heading to the Supreme Court to challenge the position of the Federal High Court Benin on the jurisdiction, the Obaseki’s group will be heading to the Appeal Court Abuja to try and upturn the well-articulated judgement of the Federal High Court Abuja.
The judgement of the Supreme Court, which is expected to come earlier, will automatically end all litigations.
Amb Tony Okonigene ANIVS, a Political Commentator Wrote From Irrua, Edo State, Nigeria