Ahead of the February 16 Presidential election in Nigeria, one of the top opposition party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP), has adopted President Muhammadu Buhari of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), as its consensus candidate ahead of the February 16 presidential elections.
The decision by the National Executive Council of the party to adopt President Buhari as its consensus candidate came today, Thursday, on the heels of recent legal battle between two candidates, Jerry Gana and Donald Duke who jostled for the party’s presidential ticket.
It will be recalled that an FCT High Court in Maitama, on Friday, December 14, declared a former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana, the winner of the presidential primary election of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) conducted on Oct. 6.
The party had declared a former Governor of Cross River, Mr. Donald Duke, the winner of the election and its flag bearer for the 2019 General Elections.
The party had said that Duke polled 812 votes while Gana had 611.
However, Gana went to court seeking that it would declare him the winner in line with the zoning and rotation formula of the party’s constitution.
In his judgment, Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf held that the regulations contained in the party’s constitution were binding on every member and must be obeyed.
He held that the zoning and rotation formula as contained in the party’s constitution stipulated that both the chairman of the party and the flag bearer should not come from the same zone.
“In this instance, the party’s Chairman, Chief Olu Falae, is from the South and Duke is from the South too; the law is clear; there is nothing to write in-between.
“The law has crystallised that political parties should abide by the regulations which they have made by themselves.
“The claimant laid sufficient evidence to have the judgment in his favour; it is a clear violation of the party’s constitution; the court cannot wave right over illegality,” he held.
The judge, therefore, declared Gana the winner of SDP presidential primary election conducted on Oct. 6.
He also declared Duke’s 812 votes null and void, and ordered SDP to forward Gana’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the party’s flag bearer for the 2019 presidential election.
In addition, he ordered that Duke should stop parading himself as the party’s flag bearer for the elections.
Gana had joined SDP, its National Chairman, Chief Olu Falae; National Secretary, Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam; Chairman, SDP Presidential Screening Panel/ Deputy National Chairman, South, Prof. Tunde Adeniran; Duke and INEC as defendants in the suit. Gana sought a declaration that Duke was not eligible to stand as a candidate in the party’s presidential primaries held on Oct. 6, in Abuja.
He also sought a declaration of the court that he ought to have been declared the winner of the SDP presidential primary election, having polled the highest valid votes in the said election.
The former minister wanted an order of the court declaring him the validly elected flag bearer of the party for the 2019 General Elections.
Gana also sought a perpetual injunction restraining Duke from parading himself as the SDP presidential candidate for the elections, among other reliefs.
He had argued that under Article 15(3) of the SDP Constitution, the office of the national chairman of the party and the presidential candidacy shall rotate between the northern and southern parts of the country.
Only recently, January 24th to be precise, a Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja declared Donald Duke, as the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
The court also set aside the earlier judgment by the Federal High Court that declared Jerry Gana, as the SDP presidential candidate.
Ruling, the three-man panel led by Justice Abdul Aboki, noted that Gana’s position based on Section 18 of the party’s amended constitution, contravenes the electoral act’s stipulation for a candidate’s validity in any election.
