November 07, (THEWILL) – The Court of Appeal, Abuja has sacked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) member representing Plateau South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Napoleon Bali.
A three-member panel of Justices of the Appellate Court, in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Elfaida Williams-Dawodu, on Tuesday, nullified the participation of the PDP in the February 25 election for Plateau South Senatorial District.
Justice Williams-Dawodu declared the participation of Bali in the Senatorial election unlawful, and declared the former governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the duly elected Senator for the Plateau South Senatorial District.
Simon Lalong, the immediate past Gov. of Plateau, is currently the Minister of Labour in President Bola Tinubu’s administration. He came second in the Feb. Senatorial election.
Justice Williams-Dawodu held that the PDP and its candidate have no legal ground to participate in the election, having failed to obey the judgment of a Plateau High Court.
The Plateau High Court had in 2022 ordered the PDP to conduct elections for the selection of officers for Wards, Local Governments and the State Chapter of the party, which was not complied with.
The Court of Appeal said that disobedience and disregard for clear lawful order of the Court was fatal because PDP hurriedly put an illegal Caretaker Committee in place in confrontation with the Court judgment.
The Court of Appeal, in the judgement delivered by Justice Elfraida Williams-Dawodu on the appeal by Bali, agreed with the lower court that a legally invalid sponsorship of a candidate cannot attract lawful votes.
“As of Feb. 25, PDP was on a faulty background at the nomination of candidate for any election. It has no legal foundation upon which its candidate nomination can stand.
“A positive order of Court must be complied with unless such order is voided and set aside by a higher Court.
“In the instant case, the lawful existing and subsisting Court order was that PDP should conduct elections in line with provisions of the law to have officers at Wards, Local Governments and State Council but the party, for reasons best known to it, opted to go against the order.
“I cannot but agree totally with the judgment of the Plateau National Assembly Election Tribunal, which on September 11, 2023, nullified the participation of PDP in the Febuary 25 National Assembly Election,” Justice Williams-Dawodu held.
Consequently, the appellate court upheld the judgement of the National and State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal delivered on September 11, 2023, which declared Lalong the duly elected Senator for Plateau South Senatorial District.
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