By Vivian Okejeme
Abuja
Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, yesterday, fixed March 10, for ruling on an application seeking to vary prayers in a suit targeted at removing Sokoto state Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), from office.
Umaru Dahiru, a former member of the Senate, and Barrister Aliyu Abubakar Sanyinna, are seeking Tambuwal’s removal on the basis that the governor was wrongly nominated by APC as the governorship candidate of the party in the election held on April 11, 2015.
Dahiru is alleging that the December 4, 2014, APC primary election which produced Tambuwal was conducted in gross violation of Section 87 of the 2010 Electoral Act and the APC 2014 election guidelines.
When the matter came up for hearing, yesterday, counsel to the plaintiff, Ikoro N. Ikoro, moved his application seeking the variation of his pleadings in the motion on notice.
Opposing Umaru’s application, counsel to the APC (1st defendant), Jibrin Okutepa, urged the court not to grant the application.
Okutepa held that “if granted, it will change the character of the plaintiff’s suit, already decided by the Supreme Court.”
“With the application for amendment of prayers on his motion paper, the plaintiff now wants the court to declare him as a candidate in a primary he said was flawed and marred by electoral irregularities.
“A party must be consistent in its prayers; the change in prayers if granted, robs the court of the jurisdiction to hear the case based on the provisions of Section 285 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
“Granting the relief, means this court has disobeyed the Supreme Court’s decision pursuant to Section 287 (3) of 1999 Constitution as amended.”
Counsel to Tambuwal, (2nd defendant), Sunday Ameh, in his counter affidavit, strongly opposed the application for variation of prayers on the motion paper.
In agreement with the submissions of APC’s lawyer, Ameh insisted that depositions in the counter affidavit which the plaintiff considered “offensive” were facts relevant to the determination of the case.
He, however, said “this court cannot grant prayers that will change the character of plaintiff’s pleading.”
Recall that apex court had last year remitted the case file back to the Federal High Court for a fresh trial on the ground that there is still life in the case in spite of the conduct of the governorship election that produced Tambuwal.
