Lanre Adewole writes on the legal tussle generated within the Kogi State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over its rightful gubernatorial candidate in the forthcoming election in the state.IF the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) eventually scrapes a win in the December 3 gubernatorial election in Kogi State, barring last-minute political solution, it is almost certain that it is the court that would eventually decide the party's lawful candidate between Captain Idris Wada and Alhaji Isa Jubrin Echocho. This is in spite of the fact that the party had given its nod to a Wada/Yomi Awoniyi ticket for the polls, following Wada's victory at the PDP controversial September 21 rescheduled primary election.Echocho, the winner of the initial primary election, conducted on January 9, is now before the court to validate the mandate given to him at the first primary election wherein Wada was not on the ballot, though he too had boycotted the rescheduled PDP primary on the strength of his case before the court.Echocho had pointed out that he would be surrendering his earlier mandate by participating in a fresh one, adding that the pendency of the suit in court, and the order of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, granting leave for the motion to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to retain his name as the party's candidate in its register, had rendered any fresh exercise null and void.The party and the Kogi State governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, who had dumped Echocho for his in-law, Wada, did not see any big deal in over-reaching the court and went ahead to hold the exercise which has now put the party and its stakeholders at the mercy of the judiciary on who should call the shots from the Lord Lugard House in Lokoja if the party wins the main election. This can only change if Echocho and his supporters could be pacified by the party to drop the suit on the legality of the duo's candidacy.Analysts averred that the PDP's handling of issues surrounding its candidate for the election in the state were similar to the scenario in Rivers State in 2007, when the Supreme Court enthroned Rotimi Amaechi as the state governor following the victory of the PDP in the gubernatorial election, despite the party's backing for Celestine Omehia as its candidate. Amaechi had earlier won the primary election but was dropped by the powers-that-be in the PDP and was replaced with Omehia. Following the intervention of the apex court, Amaechi eventually became the first Nigerian to become a governor without standing for election.The apex court also held that the intendment of the law showed that it is political parties that contest elections, and not candidates. Invariably, this means that Wada, running as the PDP candidate in Kogi, and being declared the winner, would not secure the seat until the final pronouncement of possibly the Supreme Court, unless Echocho decided not to pursue his case to a logical conclusion.Mny are, however, quick to argue that Echocho's case is not similar to Amaechi's scenario, adding that his case was more like that of the sacked former governor of Anambra State and sitting senator, Andy Uba, who was removed from office by the apex court which held that the tenure of Governor Peter Obi of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) had not lapsed when the gubernatorial election in the state was conducted and won by Uba of the PDP.So, which of the two cases is applicable to the current Kogi PDP situation' This is the poser to be determined by the judiciary about who succeeds Idris if the PDP wins the gubernatorial election.While awaiting the pronouncement of the court, analysts have contended that the issues in the two scenarios are peculiar in their own ways, with Echocho's case said to be more closely related to the Amaechi's case, considering that, as it was in the case of the Rivers State governor, he had not used his ticket to contest the general election, unlike Uba who contested and won the main election, though former Central Bank governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, was favoured for the PDP ticket when Obi's first term lawfully ended.Also like Amaechi's, Echocho's ticket had not been voided by any court of law and no court had ordered the removal of his name from the register of INEC since it was submitted by the party for the last April gubernatorial election, before the Court of Appeal held that the tenure of Idris would not end until April 14, 2012.Just like in Amaechi's case, the PDP had not given any cogent and verifiable reason for Echocho's replacement with Wada in defiance of the Supreme Court's position, other than relying on the extension of tenure granted Idris by the Court of Appeal which the same INEC is now challenging at the Supreme Court.In the suit instituted on behalf of Echocho by Umar Lawal before Justice Bilikisu Aliyu of the Federal High Court who granted the applicant leave to bring his motion on the eve of the rescheduled primary election, Idris, Wada and PDP may have shot themselves in the foot by disregarding the pendency of the suit seeking to halt the exercise.Given the triteness of law on respecting the pendency of suits before you can make demands of the court, the decision of Idris and PDP (defendants in the suit) to discountenance the court, could be a major drawback for them when full hearing begins in the suit, which had since been returned to the Chief Judge of the court for re-assignment since Justice Aliyu was a vacation judge and all vacation cases are always returned to the CJ for reassignment once the vacation is over.The believe is that the said suit represents a longer route for Echocho to realise his mandate since it is expected to get to the apex court, which puts him closer to the scenario in Amaechi's case, considering that the gubernatorial election would have definitely be conducted before the appeals, expected to flow from the suit, would be decided by the higher courts.The appeal filed by INEC at the apex court challenging the tenure extension granted Idris and governors of Adawama, Bayelsa, Sokoto and Cross River states, however presents Echocho with a shorter route to his desire, since the matter is before the final court and it could be decided before the election in December. This would see Echocho automatically taking up his ticket if the apex court upheld INEC's claim that the tenure of the five governors ended on May 29, 2011, considering that the extension was the PDP's reason for conducting a fresh primary election in Kogi.Though unlike the candidate of the CPC in Adamawa State, Brigadier-General Buba Marwa, who had been joined by the Supreme Court as a necessary party to the INEC appeal on the tenure issue which was heard at the apex court on October 13, 2011, Echocho would need to bring an application before a lower court making definite request on the basis of the judgment, if it came positive for the electoral commission, before he could benefit from such judgment.If the INEC appeal succeeded, it would put Idris, who would have to vacate office immediately, in a quandary; same as Wada who would have no say in the events that would follow because a favourable judgment for the appellant would simply take all stakeholders to the status quo pre-May 29, which he was never a part of. It would also be the decision of the party to back the lawful candidate to secure its dominance of the state politics or enact a repeat of Imo gubernatorial election scenario in 2007 when it decided to cut its nose to spite its face by renouncing its Supreme Court-anointed candidate, Senator Ifeanyi Araraume, and supported former Governor Ikedi Ohakim of APGA.Another implication of a favourable appeal for the INEC is that Idris would have to vacate office for the Speaker of the state House of Assembly as acting governor, which could seriously reduce his influence in the outcome of the polls, with Echocho still expected to benefit from this likely scenario, considering that he and the governor who once enjoyed chummy relationship are now sworn political enemies. Time will tell if PDP would survive this self-inflicted political wound.
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