The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described the suit seeking to stop the swearing-in of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as the president of Nigeria as “frivolous and vexatious.”
Goldennewsng reports that the Legal Director of the dissolved Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Babatunde Ogala (SAN), stated this on Monday in reaction to the adjournment of the suit by Justice Inyang Ekwo.
Recall that the suit seeking to stop the swearing-in of the former Governor of Lagos State as the president of Nigeria based on the controversy regarding the 25% of votes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The suit was filed by Messrs Anyaegbunam Okoye, David Adzer, Jeffery Ucheh, Osang Paul, and Chibuike Nwachukwu who described themselves as registered voters of the FCT.
In a chat with The Punch, Ogala, who is one of the lawyers of the ruling APC, frowned on the application of the suit, saying that the only body that has jurisdiction over electoral issues is an election tribunal.
Ogala further stated that the lawyer who filed the suit deserves to be invited to answer some questions for allowing himself to be pushed around by some interlopers seeking to upturn a case that is already at the tribunal.
He stated, “I am aware that a summon was filed by One Chuks Nwachukwu, a lawyer, and a group of five persons, purporting to act for themselves and representatives of whoever they say in Abuja. My immediate reaction is that I expect them to serve the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the people they want to restrain from carrying out their constitutional duties under whatever law that empowers that.
“The electoral issues are so clear. The only body that has jurisdiction over electoral issues is an election tribunal. And the Court of Appeal has constituted a presidential election petition tribunal where issues have been joined as of today.
Proceedings will continue from tomorrow or the day after. But some interlopers and busybodies are now saying ‘Don’t swear in until they interpret something that is already in the court of appeal.’ That is what they are filing in the high court. Well, they have submitted to the judges of the court and felt the court should offer them appropriately.
“I think whichever lawyer filed such an application ought to answer some disciplinary questions, both from the court and even the profession. That a matter that the court of appeal has already sealed up and is in the jurisdiction of the PEPT and the parties that contested the election have already submitted themselves to the court; that’s what some five busybodies got a lawyer to come and file what I will call a frivolous, vexatious and nauseating application before the federal high court to restrain the CJN.
It is a shame that a lawyer of the standing of the name I saw on that portal could file that if he is the person I think filed it. There is nothing they can do. They are only wasting time. It is a bloody waste of everybody’s time. Let them tell the court to trample on the law that you want to rewrite the law all because your client or candidate lost an election.”
