Nigeria News

APC Aspirants Fail To Stop Oyegun’s Tenure Extension In Court

Published

6 years ago

15 March 2018

Joshua Oyenigbehin

Peter Obi Celebrates Odigie Oyegun On His 84th Birthday

John Oyegun (Photo Credit: Daily-Trust)

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday refused the request to stop the tenures expansion of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, and other officials of the party at the national, state, local government area, and ward levels across the country.

Four APC members aspiring to run for leadership positions of the party, who were in opposition to the decision by the National Executive Council of the APC to extend the four-year tenure of the party officials, file a suit to challenged the extension of tenure for the executive officers of the parties.

According to Punch, the plaintiffs are Ademorin Kuye from Lagos State; Sani Mayanchi from Zamfara State, and currently the Publicity Secretary of the party in the state; Are Mutiu also from Lagos State, and Machu Tokwat from Kaduna State

The respondents to the suit filed on March 8, 2018 are the Independent National Electoral Commission, the APC; Odigie-Oyegun (sued for himself and on behalf of the national, state, local government area, and ward officials of the APC elected between April and June 2014); and the National Organising Secretary of the party, Osita Isunaso.

Accompanying the plaintiffs’ suit marked, FHC/ABJ/CS/237/2018, were a motion for interlocutory injunctions, and an ex parte motion seeking, among others, prayers for orders temporarily halting the implementation of the tenure extension, pending the hearing of the motion for interlocutory injunction.

Delivering a ruling after the plaintiffs’ counsel, Mr. Ahmed Raji (SAN), moved the ex parte motion on Wednesday, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba granted four of the prayers sought in it but rejected three others bordering on interim restraining orders.

In refusing the prayers for the restraining orders, Justice Dimgba held that it would be “improper to grant them without hearing the respondents”.

Granting an acceleration hearing of the suit, the judge said rather than granting the interim orders, the court would rather determine the substantive suit before June 30, when the tenure of‎ the officials would be deemed to be expired.