DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS
…tribunal special
Chief Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, Attorney General and Minister of Justice (designate); is one of the leading lawyers to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. At the Presidential Elections Petitions Tribunal, he argued that Mr. Peter Obi is not a valid candidate on the basis of a combined reading of Section 131 of the 1999 Constitution of FRN and Section 77 of the Electoral Act. In a nutshell, he argued there that for the fact that Peter Obi’s name, not listed on the membership list of the Labour Party submitted to INEC, the said Peter Obi cannot be said to be a member of Labour Party.
OTHER FLIP SIDES
But in the petition involving Governor Alex C. Otti of Abia State, the same Fagbemi holds a contrary view.
Not yet done, in Hon Nkeiruka Onyejiocha ‘s petition, Fagbemi’s only argument is that Mr. Amobi Ogah of the Labour Party is not a lawful candidate.
“4.3 We submit that it is very clear that the 3rd Respondent (Amobi Ogah) was not qualified to contest the election on account of lack of valid sponsorship in the light of the peculiar facts and circumstances of this case and provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022, which the Respondents did not comply with or could not have complied with due to the shortness of time the 3rd Respondent purportedly joined Labour Party. It is our humble submission that being a member of a political party and being sponsored by that party is a constitutional requirement for qualification for election”
As my professional colleague is counting the fees paid by Tinubu, Alex Otti and Nkeiru Onyejiocha, I wish him a very good and enjoyable evening. Our profession is a unique and wonderful one.
~ Prof. Ikechi Mgbeoji
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