Sokoto guber: Court slates March 10 to rule in suit seeking to unseat Tambuwal

JUSTICE Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday slated March 10, 2017 to decide whether to allow or refuse an application seeking to amend an originating summons seeking the removal of Aminu Waziri Tambuwal as Governor of Sokoto state.

The plaintiff. Senator Umaru Dahiru, a governorship aspirant of the All Progressive Congress (APC) hinged his legal action on the ground that the primary election of the APC that produced Tambuwal as the party’s governorship candidate for the 2015 governorship election was not validly conducted.

The plaintiff, in the motion argued by his counsel, Ikoro I. Ikoro sought to amend his originating summon filed against APC, Tambuwal and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendant respectively before the April 11,2015 Governorship election.

In the amendment been sought, the plaintiff, Senator Dahiru is now asking the court to remove Governor Tambuwal from office and declare him as the winner of the December 2014 primary election of the APC.

He also asked the court for an order compelling the electoral body to withdraw the certificate of return issued to governor Tambuwal and present it to him on the grounds that he was the lawfully elected candidate of the APC at the primary election.

Dahiru also sought an order nullifying Tambuwal’s nomination by APC for the 2015 Governorship election and replaced him as the properly nominated APC candidate to INEC for the 2015 governorship election.

However, in his objection, APC asked the court to dismiss Dahiru’s request for the amendment  of his originating summon on the grounds that it is not in compliance with the Supreme Court judgment on December 9, 2016 which ordered a retrial of the plaintiff’s case.

Jubrin Okutepa (SAN), who  represented the APC, argued that the applicant, Senator Dahiru had changed the character and direction of his earlier originating summon.

The party told the court that the applicant sought to amend the originating summon because of his sudden discovery that event had overtaken the initial originating summon and that any attempt to allow the amendment will amount to an affront to the Supreme Court Judgment of December last year.

Okutepa further argued that the applicant was not consistent in the relief been sought in the proposed amendment, adding that in the originating summon, the applicant had asked the court to nullify the APC primary election on the grounds that it was unlawfully conducted and that the same applicant cannot seek to be declared winner of the said unlawfully conducted primary election.

The counsel therefore urged the court to refuse the amendment and allow hearing in the initial originating summon as directed by the Supreme Court.

Tambuwal’s counsel, Sunday Ibrahim Ameh (SAN) aligned himself with the submission of the APC and urged the court to hold that the amendment been sought by the Governorship aspirant is unmeritorious.

The counsel insisted that it is too late for the applicant to seek the relief after the governorship election had been conducted adding that the proper place for the applicant to ventilate his anger is the election petition tribunal.

Ameh also submitted that the applicant cannot even go to any election petition tribunal because the 21 day required by law under which a petition can be filed to challenge the election of any declared winner had lapsed since 2015.

Ameh therefore urged the court to refuse the temptation of turning itself to an election petition tribunal as there is no law for such an action.

The trial Judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, after taken arguments from both parties fixed March 10, 2017  to give ruling on whether to allow or refuse the proposed amendment sought by Dahiru.