Court of Appeal, Abuja Division on Wednesday, adjourned indefinitely to deliver judgment in an appeal brought before it by a governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi state, Mr Abubakar Achimugu against a judgement of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja which affirmed Ahmed Usman Ododo as the APC flagbearer for the November 11, 2023 governorship election in Kogi.
A three-member panel of Justices of the appellate court, presided over by Justice Muhammed Lawal Shuaibu reserved the date for judgement in the appeal after parties adopted their written addresses.
The appeal was against the judgement of Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja delivered on 18th July which held that, Ododo can lawfully continue to fly the flag of the APC in the November 11, 2023 governorship election in the State.
Achimugu had approached the trial court with a suit seeking to disqualify Ododo from contesting the November 11 governorship election on grounds that he did not resign his employment with the Kogi State public service 30 days before contesting the governorship primary election.
Achimugu, in a Notice of Appeal filed on July 21 through his counsel, Josiah Daniel-Ebune said Justice Egwuatu erred in law and occasioned a miscarriage of justice when he held that Ododo and Salami Deedat (2nd and 3rd defendants) duly resigned their appointment and thus, not caught up with the mandatory provision of what the law requires them to do before they participated in the APC’s governorship primary election for Kogi state held on April 15, 2023.
He said the trial court also erred in law when, in dismissing his suit, ignored the uncontroverted evidence regarding credibility of the two purported letters of resignation exhibited by the APC, Ododo and Deedat and expressly rejected his paragraphs 5.2 – 5.4 of his reply address of the imperative of Ododo and Deedat lodging the said purported letters of the resignation along with their expression of interest form with APC within the 30 days period required by the law, by holding that such contention is not supported by any law.
Achimugu said the trial Judge erred in law and misconceived the purport of his originating summons by holding that he changed his case from the original contention and was therefore not consistent in presenting the case, by approbating and reprobating, as a result, he prejudged the amended originating summons and thereby came to an erroneous decision dismissing his suit.
According to Achimugu, the trial court erred in law in misapplying the provision of Section 306(2) of the constitution and the cases of Yusuf Vs Governor of Edo state and Zubair Vs Mohammed to the facts and issues in his case and occasioned a miscarriage of justice, among other grounds.
He asked the appellate court for an order setting aside the judgement of the trial court and granting all his reliefs sought in his amended originating summons.
After the emergence of Ododo as the APC’s governorship candidate in the forthcoming governorship election in Kogi State, Achimugu, who was also an aspirant approached the Court, asking that Ododo be disqualified from contesting the governorship election on grounds that he did not resign his employment with the Kogi State public service 30 days before contesting the governorship primary.
But, the court, in its judgment, held that contrary to the claim of Achimugu, evidence showed that Ododo resigned his appointment more than 30 days before participating in the APC primary.
