A Presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Umar Ardo has joined the original plaintiff who is seeking to reverse a high court judgment that dismissed a suit challenging the eligibility of President Goodluck Jonathan to run for president in 2015.
Cyriacus Njoku, who was the plaintiff at the Abuja High Court, had filed an appeal challenging the judgment of Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi (now a justice of the Court of Appeal) after the judge dismissed his case.
Not satisfied with the judgment, Njoku had approached the Court of Appeal to challenge the judgment. And Umar who was not a party to the suit at the Abuja High Court had applied to be joined as a party in the appeal.
In his application to join the suit, he said that he wanted to contest for President on the platform of the PDP.
Jonathan, through his counsel, Ade Okeaya-Inneh (SAN), had opposed the application on the ground that the applicant did not satisfy the provisions of Section 243 (1) (a) of the Constitution to enable him qualify to be made a party.
However, Ardo through his counsel, Amuda Kannike (SAN), had told the court that he had been cleared thrice by the PDP to contest for the governorship position of Adamawa State, as a basis of preparing himself to seek the highest office in the nation.
He claimed that the decision of the Abuja High Court raised “grave points of constitutional law and jurisprudence that is the first of its kind in Nigeria.” [myad]
