From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Abuja division of the Court of Appeal will today decide as to whether or not, the governorship candidates of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and KOWA party, Dan Onyeonagu are qualified to be joined in the appeal by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu against the judgment of a Federal High Court removing him from office.
Justice Morenikeji Ogunwumiju who presided over a five-member panel of judges fixed the date after arguments were taken from counsel to all the parties in the appeal.
While moving the application for joinder as an interested party, Dr. Otisi, his lead counsel, Yusuf Ali submitted that giving the circumstances of the case and the consequential orders made by the lower court, his client was entitled to be heard.
He invoked the provisions of section 30 of the Court of Appeal Act in urging the court to grant his application.
On his part, counsel to Onyeonagu, James Idoko said in the interest of fair hearing and substantial justice, his client be allowed to participate in the appeal.
In opposition to his application, counsel to Samson Ogah, Dr. Alex Iziyon (SAN) urged the court to dismiss the application for lacking in merit.
He submitted that it is strange for the applicants (Oti and Onyeonagu) who are not members of the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) to be joined in a suit that is purely an intra party affairs between its members.
Iziyon persuaded the court to hold that the applicant lacked locus standi to participate in the appeal.
In his submissions, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) described the applicants as meddlesome interlopers who have no legal rights to participate in an appeal involving an intra- party dispute.
He said an appeal is not an all comers affairs and that the applicants who are not members of the PDP have no locus standi to participate in the appeal.
Counsel to PDP, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) took a similar position with both Iziyon and Olanipekun in urging the court v to dismiss the application.
Counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), T.M. Inuwa adopted submissions of the the senior lawyers in urging the court to refuse the application.
A Federal High Court had on June 27 nullified Ikpeazu’s election after holding that he submitted false information regarding his tax clearance certificate.
Justice Okon Abang also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to issue Samson Ogah a certificate of return.
The main appeal was adjourned to August 9th for hearing. The court said it would hear all applications and the main appeal together.
In his notice of appeal filed by Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN the Abia state governor raised five grounds of appeal upon which he asked the Court of Appeal to set aside the judgment and orders of the high court.
The governor said that the Federal High Court lacked the power to order him to vacate the seat of Abia State Governor.
The notice of appeal reads: “The trial judge erred in law when he ordered as a consequential order that the appellant vacates his office as the Governor of Abia state immediately when there was no jurisdiction in the Federal High Court to remove, vacate the occupier of the office of the governor of a state or order the removal of such officer after the unsuccessful challenge of the result of the election at the Tribunal and swearing in of the appellant as the governor.”
The governor said that the only power, authority and order exercisable by the Federal High Court was to disqualify the candidate from contesting the election based on section 31(6) of the Electoral Act 2010.
Ikepazu also faulted the judge when he held that he did not pay his tax for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013, at when due, when he was a public officer whose tax deduction was under Pay As You Earn (PAYE) scheme where tax deductions were from the source of his monthly salary by the tax authorities who isssued all the tax receipts and certificates.
He also said that the Abia State Board of Internal Revenue Services that issued him with the tax certificates had not declared the certificates forged and that the trial court did not invite the issuing authorities to give evidence in the course of the trial.
Ikpeazu said that the plaintiff Dr Samson Udechukwu Ogah was not a staff of the Abia Board of Internal Revenue and did not any staff of the board to testify that the tax certificates were forged.
He accused the trial judge, Justice Okon Abang of violating his right to fair hearing by embarking on judicial investigation without giving him (Ikepazu) the opportunity to address the court on the issue.
The notice of appeal also states: “The learned trial judge erred in law when he held that the appellant presented false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission by his ingenous meticulous study and investigation of documents filed in courts in the recess of his chambers and thereby violated the right of the appellant to fair hearing.”
The governor said that the judge had no duty to investigate the contents of documents dumped on the court in the recess of his chambers with a view to finding for the plaintiff.
“The decision of the judge which arose from the judicial investigation without opportunity to the appellant violated the appellant’s right to fair hearing”, the governor said.
Ikepazu also rejected the decision of the high court declaring him unqualified to be nominated as the primary election conducted by his party because false information was supplied to INEC.
According to him, INEC Form CF001 which the judge relied on was not one of the grounds of qualification to contest the primary election of PDP.
He said that the judge misconceived the presented by the parties and thereby arrived at a wrong conclusion which occasioned a grave miscarriage of justice.
Meanwhile, the governor’s party, the PDP has also rejected the judgment and filed a separate appeal.