The Supreme Court has dismissed a suit brought by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against Vice President-elect Kassim Shettima alleging double nomination.
The court agreed with lower courts that the PDP lacked the standing to bring such a case, as it was an internal affair of the APC.
Justice Adamu Jauro, who read the judgment held that the PDP acted as a meddlesome interloper and a busybody. The court awarded two million naira against the PDP and dismissed the suit for lacking merit.
ATTENTION: Click “HERE” to join our WhatsApp group and receive News updates directly on your WhatsApp!
The justices held that the PDP’s attitude amounted to misleading the court, which they described as “sad.”
They further said that Shettima withdrew his senate nomination on July 6, 2022, and was subsequently replaced. As such, he was no longer a candidate for the Senate, and his position as vice president did not constitute a multiple nomination breach.
The apex court Justices reminded the PDP that their reliance on the Uche Nwosu case was futile, as the suit was bound to fail from the trial court to the Supreme Court.
The PDP’s attempt to use social media to blackmail the Apex court was described as unfortunate and uncalled for.
The judges emphasized that a political party has no right to challenge the decision of another party or INEC regarding another party. Locus standi to challenge the nomination process of a political party was only granted to a neutral person who was an aspirant to the position and a member of the party.
The Supreme Court has ruled that the PDP has no case against the APC’s nomination of Shettima as Tinubu’s running mate.
The court reminded the PDP of a similar issue in 1999, when Atiku Abubakar was nominated for Governor but later became the Vice Presidential Candidate.
It therefore asked the opposition party what has changed since then. The PDP claimed that Shettima’s nomination was in breach of the Electoral Act 2022, but the court ruled that they had no case.
