Cross River North senatorial bye election: Court declares Hon Jarigbe of PDP validly nominated candidate

The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has declared Honourable Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe as the duly elected candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the December 5 rescheduled Cross River North senatorial bye election. 

Delivering judgment in a suit, marked CV/77/2020, brought before the court by Chief John Alaga, challenging Jarigbe’s nomination, Justice B Mohammed, sitting at Apo, Abuja, held that the defendant, Hon Jarigbe, did not supply any false information in his nomination form, declaring that the defendant was duly nominated as the PDP standard bearer in the bye election.

The judge further held that the party’s primary election from which Jarigbe emerged as its candidate was duly conducted with the authentic and legitimate delegates list of the ward and local government areas executives of the party.

According to Justice Mohammed, having scored the highest number of valid votes at the primary election, the defendant was validly nominated as the PDP candidate for Saturday’s senatorial bye election.

He added that the PDP primary election was elected was duly monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and as such was valid and in accordance with the law. 

The judge, therefore, directed INEC, sued as the second defendant, to include and publish the name of Hon Jarigbe on the list of candidates for the bye election scheduled for December 5.

The electoral umpire was further ordered to give Jarigbe every other rights and privileges pertaining to his lawful qualification and nomination as the PDP candidate.

The plaintiff had sought a declaration of the court that Jarigbe gave and/or supplied false information to INEC in his Form CF001, stating that he obtained educational qualifications making him eligible to contest the bye election, whereas he has no such qualifications.

He further sought, among others, a declaration that the PDP primary election held on September 5, 2020 at Ogoja Local Government Area of Cross River State was not conducted by the national body of the party and invalid, illegal, null and void.

The plaintiff, therefore, sought an order of injunction restraining the first defendant from parading himself as qualified to contest the bye election.

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