Presidential Bid-The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele Accuses The National Electoral Commission, INEC, Of Plot To Disqualify Him

The governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of a plot to disqualify him from contesting in the bid for the Presidency of Nigeria.

Emefiele, approached the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, yesterday, he filed a suit through his team of lawyers, led by Mike Ozekhome, SAN.

He explained to the court that both INEC and the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, are “making frantic efforts” to ensure that he does not participate in the presidential primaries he said has been scheduled for May 30 and June 1.

Consequently, he prayed the court to order INEC and the AGF to maintain status quo ante bellum (allow things to remain the way they are) and not compel him to resign from his position as CBN Governor, until 30 days to the general elections.

He urged the court to, in the interim, restrain the two defendants from taking any step that could push him out of office, pending the determination of the suit.

"My lord, by Wednesday, May 11, 2022, the timeline for collecting the form for expression of interest will expire.

The timeline for the congresses and conventions of the political parties for the presidential election, which he is interested in, comes up on the 30th of May.

“This motion, is therefore, seeking that the court should grant an order for maintenance of status quo.

"Let my lord not allow anybody to do anything,” Ozekhome pleaded while moving Emefiele’s ex-parte application that was supported with an affidavit of urgency.

Adducing reasons he would not resign as CBN governor, Emefiele, contended that not being a political appointee, he was not caught up by section 84 (12) of the new Electoral Act, since he is a public servant.

The plaintiff further drew the attention of the court to a subsisting judgement of the Federal High Court in Umuahia, which he said voided section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act, 2022.

He prayed the court to invoke section 318 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and bar the defendents from asking him to vacate his office, until 30 days to the presidential election.

Meanwhile, in a bench ruling yesterday, Justice Ahmed Mohammed rejected Emefiele’s ex-parte application, and directed him to go and put the two defendants on notice and also serve them with all the relevant processes in the matter.

Justice Mohammed ordered the defendants to appear before him on May 12 and show cause why the plaintiff’s prayers should not be granted.

Source: The Vanguard

Comments

In The Spotlight

On Saturday night, the starboy 'himself' Wizkid, held a music concert in Lagos. Wizkid and Olamide, Nigeria's mega music superstars, thrilled fans to a fantastic concert in Lagos. The concert as part of a music world tour by Wizkid, featured the likes of Olamide, Fireboy and Lojay. Their performance at the concert was electrifying. Olamide and Wizkid, performed songs, they did together in the past, their old songs. Thereby, settling rumours of 'bad blood' between the two as perceived by fans. Wizkid appreciated Olamide and reminisced on old times when they were still struggling. He said: “We’ve come so far from that life, I remember when we did that song ‘Omo Toh Shan’. “We thank God for our lives my brother.” The latest music sensation known as 'Portable', also performed. He was sprayed with foreign currency by Wizkid as he performed on stage with Olamide. They all gave a spectacular performance for the night. 'Portable' is known for his hit son...

Breaking: Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Campaign DG Has Left The All Progressive Congress, APC.

Honourable Abdulmumin Jibrin, the Campaign Director General of APC frontline presidential aspirant, Ahmed Tinubu, has left the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC. He made his decision known via his Twitter handle. He tweeted, “I have done my best for APC. Its time to move on. I will announce my new political party within the next 24 hours insha Allah. I will make a formal statement in due course. Hon Abdulmumin Jibrin.” Jubril in the last weeks aggressively campaigned for Tinubu. On several platforms, he asserted his position on a Southern presidency. During an interview with Arise Television, Jubril made the following remark, “I don’t think APC will try to toy around with that matter. I believe confidently that the Presidency is going to the Southern part and, when it goes there, Asiwaju stands out clearly in terms of experience, pedigree and competence and most importantly, the ability to win the election. His gap is quite huge more than anybody else". "Well 24 hou...

Attahiru Jega - ASUU Strike Turned Into A Personal Quarrel

Attahiru Jega, former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has accused Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, of taking the industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) personal and turning it into a private dispute. Speaking on Tuesday during a programme on Arise TV, Jega said Ngige is creating more problems than solutions. He alleges that Ngige is having a personal quarrel with the minister of education and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Jega said; "Unfortunately, right now, the minister of labour is not helping matters. He has turned this into a personal quarrel between him and the minister of education on one hand and between himself and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on the other. “While many other people are trying to find a way of addressing this situation so that students can go back to school and ASUU can go back to work, he is busy creating challenges. “He now took the matte...

Welcome To Echo Blog

Search This Blog