“The tribunal decisions against Labour Party’s elected lawmakers are unjust and clearly in contravention of established jurisprudence..”
By Chidinma Eseke
The Labour Party is alarmed that its electoral gains at the just concluded national elections are being subtly taken away and awarded to APC and PDP by the election tribunals.
It is alleged that the older politicians are bribing judges to turn the cases against Labour lawmakers who do not have enough war chest to buy favours from compromised judges.
In Enugu State, the election tribunal has sacked two Labour members and awarded the positions to PDP candidates. In Delta the tribunal has sacked a Lobour House of Representatives member and awarded the post to a PDP candidate who lost the election at the poll. In Lagos the tribunal just ordered a re-run of the House of Representatives election at Etiosa Federal Constituency which was won by a Labour Party candidate through popular votes.
Against this background Labour Party national chairman, Julius Abure, has justifiably raised alarm that the election tribunals are reversing the elections won by Labour candidates in favour of the two older parties. The same thing is happening in Kano where the electoral posts won by the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, are being taken away by the older parties through the election tribunals.
According to Abure, “The Labour Party is amazed at the spate of judgments being churned out at the various National and State Assembly tribunals where several of our elected members at the National Assembly have been sacked by the tribunals.
Labour Party at the last general election took Nigerians by surprise by rewriting the political narratives and ending the dominance of the two major political parties in Nigeria. LP became a household name with over 10 million members and supporters across the nation. However, this feat is regrettably being reversed by the pronouncements coming out from the various tribunals.
“We are worried because the reasons for reversing our victories are matters that have been settled by the superior courts in the past. It is even incomprehensible and ludicrous when different tribunals give conflicting and diverse judgements on the same matter, a matter that has since been ruled by the Supreme Court and very recently at the Presidential Election Petition Court in APC v Peter Obi. The courts have in a plethora of cases held that the court has no jurisdiction to intervene in the internal affairs of a political party.”
Abure, a lawyer, argues: “The issue of nomination of candidates as well as membership are internal affairs of the party beyond the jurisdiction of courts. It is only a political party that can determine who its members are and who their flag bearer for an election should be.
“In its judgment in SC/CV/501/2023 which was cited for the Tribunal, the Supreme Court held that “A political party that files a suit to challenge the nomination of the candidate of another party will be a nosy busybody, a meddlesome interloper, peeping into the affairs of his neighbour without any backing in law. No court of law can entertain such a Suit”
In the case of ARDO & ANOR v. NYAKO & ORS (2013) LPELR-CA/YL/15/2012 (CONSOLIDATED), the Courtrt of Appeal, Per DENTON-WEST, J.C.A., held that; “However it is a notorious principle of law that courts have no right whatsoever to descend into the internal affairs of political parties as to choose their candidates for them” or decide the status of their membership.
This position is more vividly expounded in the case of AGI v. PDP & ORS (2016) LPELR-SC.256/2016, where the Supreme Court held that; “… a party is supreme over its own affairs……A party is like a club. A voluntary association. It has its rules, regulations, guidelines, and Constitution…”
“Part of the rules and guidelines of the Labour Party is to accord membership to any Nigerian whoso desire, and including by way of a waiver. If you look at our guidelines, it is very clear, that we can grant a waiver to people who are joining us during the election, and Labour Party in observance of its own relevant rules and guidelines discharged its obligations by granting a waiver to as many as requested for it. So, It is our inalienable right under our own rules and we activated it to the fullest.
“The decisions of the tribunal against our elected lawmakers are clearly in contravention of established jurisprudence. Where the leadership of a party regards a person as a member of the party eligible to contest the primaries, no member of the party can complain against such a decision. Such an issue is within the the domestic and internal affairs of the party over which the courts have no jurisdiction as such is not justiciable.
“It is therefore a mockery of our judicial system for lower court to upturn a judgement already delivered by the Supreme court. Though the tribunal is not the final court but we frown at the recklessness of our judicial officers in entering a judgement that looks suspicious.
“We are therefore calling the attention of the Nigeria Judicial Council to the injustice on going and to review the activities of some of our legal officers who may have been compromised and found wanting in the discharge of their duties. Labour Party must be encouraged to widen the political space and end the one party system being vigorously pursued by the ruling party. Pushing the party under a moving trailer will not in anyway help any one.”
