BEVERLY HILLS, March 03, (THEWILL) – A suit seeking to stop President Goodluck Jonathan from participating in the 2015 Presidential election has again been quashed by the Appeal Court thus paving the way for Jonathan to participate in the March 28 election.
Quashing the suit, Tuesday, the Appeal Court sitting in Abuja also held that President Jonathan’s first term in office started in 2011 following his victory in the April 11 2011 presidential election.
The court also held that the President took his first oath of office on May 29, 2011 and that May 2015 would not be the end of a second tenure as claimed by the appellants.
The Court also declared that President Jonathan becoming president on May 6 2010 is an operation of a constitutional provision, following the demise of a president.”
Maintaining that the appeal lacked merit, the court further held that ascending the office of the President in 2010 was not an election and as such could not be counted as part of his tenure.
The appellate court President said President Jonathan is eligible to stand for the election as he ruled that “the appeal lacks merit and is dismissed.”
The appellants were therefore ordered to pay President Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) N50,000 as cost of undertaking the trial process.
THEWILL recalls that the suit was referred to the Court of Appeal, Abuja division for proper adjudication by Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court on February 24.
Asking the court to interpret sections 135 and 137 of the constitution as they relate to tenure of the office of the President, Justice Mohammed said he had taken a look into the four issues formulated for determination and eight reliefs sought by the plaintiffs and discovered that they were the same.
Justice Mohammed noted that the issues raised were the same in content and fact with another suit earlier referred to the Court of Appeal for judicial interpretation of section 135 and 137, as they relate to the tenure of the President.
