The Supreme Court has dismissed the suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seeking to void the joint ticket of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Senator Kashim Shettma as presidential and vice presidential candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last election.
The PDP had claimed that Shettma violated the Electoral Act by allowing himself to be nominatited twice for two different offices – Borno Central Senatorial district and Vice President.
In a judgment on Friday, a five-member panel of the apex court, held that the appeal by the PDP was grossly lacking in merit and a waste of the court’s precious time.
Justice Adamu Jauro, in the lead judgment, affirmed the earlier judgments of the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal, which dismissed the case on the grounds that the PDP lacked no locus standi to have sued to challenge the process of nomination of candidates by another party.
Justice Jauro, who described PDP as a busy body and meddlesome interloper, held that Kashim was not guilty of double nomination because there was evidence that he resigned as a senatorial candidate on April 6 before he was nominated as Vice presidential candidate on April 14.
He held that not being a member of the APC and candidate in its primary election, the PDP cannot challenge the process the APC adopted in nominating its candidates.
The judge also held that Section 285(14)(c) of the Constitution, which the PDP relied on in bringing the case did not clothe it with the right to challenge INEC decisions and activities in relation to other political parties.
On the PDP’s request that it hear the case on the merit, the court said since the 180 days within which the trial court could have heard the case and the 60 days for the Court of Appeal have elapsed, it no longer has the jurisdiction to consider the case on the merit.
