FACT-CHECKS: Will APC Statutory Delegates Really Vote In Presidential Primary; ‘Judgement Order’ A Booby Trap?

A federal High Court in Kano on Friday declared that  statutory delegates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), involving lawmakers at all levels and some government functionaries, eligible to vote at the party’s June 6  and 7 National Convention in Abuja.

DOWNLOAD THE JUDGEMENT HERE:  JUDGEMENT ORDER

The ‘judgement order’ issued by Justice A.M Liman  of the Kano Federal High Court of Nigeria was the outcome of an originating summons dated the 23rd day of May, 2022 and filed on the 24th day of May, 2022 by some high-profile party members interested in the matter.

The suit was filed by  Senator Mas’ud El-Jibrin Doguwa, Hon. Habibu Sani and Hon. Bilyaminu Yusif Shinkafi, with the Senate President, National Chairman of the APC, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as defendants. The Suit No FHC/KN/CS/137/2022 prayed  the court  to declare that Section 84(8) cannot be interpreted to have excluded statutory delegates from voting  at the convention, congress or meeting by virtue of Section 223 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Article 20(iv)(c) of the All Progressives Congress Constitution, which allow Statutory Delegation  to vote at convention, congress or meeting.

The judgement  actually sent jitters across the spectrum of the ruling party’s leadership, with one of the high-profile leaders describing the judgment as ‘a booby trap.’

Recall that President of the Senate Lawan also is also contesting for the office of the President in 2023.

Justice Liman, in delivering the order, noted that the second defendant filed a counter affidavit in opposition to the originating summons dated 1st of June, 2022 while the 1st, 3rd and 4th Defendants did not file any process in the suit.

”It is hereby ordered as follows:

That Section 84(8) cannot be interpreted to have excluded statutory delegates from voting at the convention, congress or meeting  by virtue of Section 223 of the 1999 constitution (as amended) and Article 20(iv)(c) of  the All Progressives Congress (APC) Constitution, which allow statutory delegation to vote at convention, congress or meeting.”

However, a careful scrutiny of the declarative judgment reveals that it is not an executive judgement yet and would present an uphill task for those seeking to benefit from it, especially as the APC’s June 6 and 7 Presidential primary election is just several hours away.

Being a declaratory pronouncement and executory in nature, it may require further proceedings  for it’s enforcement, some  lawyers who spoke to Prime Business Africa on the matter, said.

According to one of  them, ‘‘It merely proclaims the existence of a legal right without an order for enforcement of such right.’’

A  lawyer, therefore, opined that the order of the FHC Kano ‘‘being circulated as allowing statutory delegates to participate at the convention of the APC on 6 & 7 June, 2022… has no effect to compel the attendance of statutory delegates as listed in Article 12(1) of the Constitution. It does not in any way help the said categories of delegates listed in Article 12(1) of APC Constitution.’’

Beyond the court finding that Section 84(8) cannot be interpreted to have excluded statutory delegates from voting at the convention, congress or meetings by virtue of Section 223 of the 1999 Constitution and Article 20(iv)(c) of APC Constitution, made no positive orders, either mandating the Defendants to admit or allow persons listed as  statutory delegates in Article 12(1) of  the Constitution of APC to participate and vote as delegates at the convention of APC scheduled for June 6 and 7 2002 or at any other time.

There was also no order restraining the Defendants from excluding the category of persons listed as  statutory delegates in Article 12(1)  of  the constitution of APC from participating as delegates at the national convention of APC slated for June 6 and 7 2022 or at any other time.

It would therefore be argued that the judgement as produced made no orders after its finding on the interpretation of Section 84(8) and will have no effect whatsoever to compel the attendance or admission of the statutory delegates at the convention.

‘‘There is nothing to celebrate in the said order,’’ another Constitutional lawyer said on Saturday morning.

But is the Kano FHC ‘Judgment Order’ a booby trap, as an APC leader told Prime Business Africa on Friday night, likening to the beckoning of the political upset scenarios in Rivers and Zamfara states at different times?

On the whole, concerns are rife that this ‘booby trap’ judgment will open a floodgate of litigations and threaten whatever would be the outcomes of the  party’s June 6 and 7 presidential  primary election.