Banner Online News

By Ogunsakin Mustapha

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a suit by the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), challenging the nomination of Alhaji Kashim Shettima by All Progressives Congress (APC) as a Vice Presidential candidate in the February 25 presidential elections. The apex court called PDP a “meddlesome interloper”.

The Apex court decision has put an end to all speculations that a judicial intervention may stop the inauguration of President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President-elect Kashim Shettima.

The Apex Court held that the PDP’s suit praying disqualification of Tinubu and Shetima was grossly lacking in merit and dismissed it.

Justice Adamu Jauro who delivered the lead judgment slammed a fine of N2 million on PDP for poke nosing into the internal affairs of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the conduct of its primary elections and nomination of its candidates.

Justice Jauro agreed with Tinubu’s lawyer, Babatunde Ogala SAN, that PDP acted as busy body and meddlesome interloper in the ways and manners it dabbled into APC’s affairs unjustly.

The Apex Court held that apart from the fact that PDP lacked requisite jurisdiction to institute the suit, the party also failed to provide scintilla of evidence that Shetima engaged in double nomination.

The claim of PDP on the alleged double nomination of the Vice President-elect was described as most unfortunate and a clear deliberate mischief to mislead the Court and the country.

The Supreme Court also agreed with Ogala that no matter the pains of PDP on how APC conducted its primary election and nominated its candidates, PDP must remain onlooker.

“It is abundantly clear that the Appellant (PDP) in the totality of its position in the instant case, is peeping and poke nosing into the affairs of another party as a busy body and meddlesome interloper,” he said.

The Court held that the action of PDP was painful because it used the social media to set a booby trap for the Supreme Court to blackmail it.

It said this is most unfortunate, unwarranted and uncalled for.

• Source: https://thegavel.com.ng/supreme-court-dismisses-pdp-suit-against-shettima/