On Friday, July 19, Olumide Anthony Akpata, the immediate past President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, and governorship candidate of the Labour Party, LP, in Edo State, escaped being disqualified from the governorship race by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
A suit seeking his prohibition from being allowed to take part in the September 21 gubernatorial election was dismissed by Justice Obiora Egwuatu for being incurably incompetent and lacking in merit.
This is the second time such a suit seeking termination of his governorship ambition would be thrown out.
Justice Egwuatu in his judgment in a suit marked FHC/ ABJ/CS/472/2024, held that the case was instituted outside the 14 days prescribed by section 285 of the 1999 Constitution.
Another Labour Party governorship aspirant, Kenneth Imansuangbon filed the suit wherein he prayed the court to nullify the candidacy of Akpata alongside his running mate, Oluyinka Faith Alufohai on various grounds.
Among others, Imansuangbon alleged that both the governorship candidate and the running mate supplied false information in their form EC9 to the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, to secure clearance for the election.
He claimed that Akpata used Olumide Anthony Akpata and Akpata Olumide Osaignovo inter-changeably in several documents submitted to LP and the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC.
The grouse of Imansuagbon was that Akpata Olumide Anthony and Akpata Olumide Osaigbovo are not the same person and cannot be the same person.
In the same vein, the governorship aspirant claimed that Ikhehi Oluyinka Faith Alufohai Oluyinka Faith allegedly used by the LP governorship running mate was not the same person and cannot be the same person.
The Plaintiff asked the court to hold that they supplied false information in their documents and therefore declare them ineligible, unfit, deceitful and disqualified from participating in the coming September 22 governorship election in Edo State.
Imansuagbon also alleged that Akpata held dual citizenship of another sovereign country, Vanuatin contrary to the provisions of the Nigerian laws.
He demanded that Akpata be ordered to pay him N50M as the cost of litigation.
Akpata, however, denied all the allegations in his counter affidavit and also asked the court to dismiss the suit for being statute barred having been filled outside the 14 days permitted by law for any pre-election suit.
The processes filed by Ikhehi Oluyinka Faith Alufohai were, however, struck out by Justice Egwuatu on the ground that they were filed out of time.
In his judgment, Justice Egwuatu held that the cause of action for Imansuagbon arose on March 24 when the names of Akpata and his running mate were submitted by the Labour Party to INEC.
The Judge held that Imansuagbon who filed the suit on April 12 did so outside the 14 days stipulated by law.
Specifically, Justice Egwuatu said the suit was instituted exactly 19 days when the cause of action arose thereby rendering the suit statute barred.
He subsequently dismissed the suit on the ground that it could no longer be entertained by the court.
The Judge did not award any cost to any of the parties.
