Poll timetable: APC chief drags N’Assembly to court

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Anike Nwoga,
has approached a Federal High Court sitting in Enugu to challenge
the revision of the Independent National Electoral Commission 2019
election timetable by the National Assembly.

The timetable released and published by INEC had stated that the
poll would commence with the election of the President and members
of the National Assembly and followed by governorship and state
assembly elections.

But the National Assembly revised the timetable, placing the
National Assembly election first, to be followed by the
governorship and state Houses of Assembly polls, while the
presidential election will come last.

Nwoga, who is the zonal Vice-Chairman of the APC in the
Enugu-East Senatorial District, in the suit dated March 2, 2018 and
filed through his lawyer, Godwin Onwusi, is asking the Enugu court
for an interlocutory injunction restraining the President of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria from assenting to the revised timetable
as contained in a bill passed by the National Assembly.

In the motion on notice brought pursuant to orders 26 and 28 of
the FHC (Civil Procedure) Rules 2009, the plaintiff prayed the
court to restrain the President from assenting to the bill,
whenever it is presented to him for assent, pending the
determination of the substantive suit.

Besides asking the court to stop the President from assenting to
the revised poll timetable, the plaintiff equally asked for an
interlocutory injunction restraining the National Assembly from
overriding the President’s veto, should he decide to veto the bill,
when transmitted to him, pending the determination of the
substantive suit.

In the same vein, the court was asked to restrain INEC from
complying with the sequence of elections contained in the bill
passed by the National Assembly.

The court was asked to determine whether the National Assembly,
in exercise of its lawmaking powers, can make laws to compel INEC
to exercise the powers to organise, undertake and supervise
elections conferred on it by the constitution in a particular
sequence.

Also to be determined by the court is whether the National
Assembly, in exercise of its lawmaking powers, can make a law to
change the sequence of elections, already adopted and published by
INEC, pursuant to the powers conferred on it by the constitution,
among others.

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Anike Nwoga,
has approached a Federal High Court sitting in Enugu to challenge
the revision of the Independent National Electoral Commission 2019
election timetable by the National Assembly.

The timetable released and published by INEC had stated that the
poll would commence with the election of the President and members
of the National Assembly and followed by governorship and state
assembly elections.

But the National Assembly revised the timetable, placing the
National Assembly election first, to be followed by the
governorship and state Houses of Assembly polls, while the
presidential election will come last.

Nwoga, who is the zonal Vice-Chairman of the APC in the
Enugu-East Senatorial District, in the suit dated March 2, 2018 and
filed through his lawyer, Godwin Onwusi, is asking the Enugu court
for an interlocutory injunction restraining the President of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria from assenting to the revised timetable
as contained in a bill passed by the National Assembly.

In the motion on notice brought pursuant to orders 26 and 28 of
the FHC (Civil Procedure) Rules 2009, the plaintiff prayed the
court to restrain the President from assenting to the bill,
whenever it is presented to him for assent, pending the
determination of the substantive suit.

Besides asking the court to stop the President from assenting to
the revised poll timetable, the plaintiff equally asked for an
interlocutory injunction restraining the National Assembly from
overriding the President’s veto, should he decide to veto the bill,
when transmitted to him, pending the determination of the
substantive suit.

In the same vein, the court was asked to restrain INEC from
complying with the sequence of elections contained in the bill
passed by the National Assembly.

The court was asked to determine whether the National Assembly,
in exercise of its lawmaking powers, can make laws to compel INEC
to exercise the powers to organise, undertake and supervise
elections conferred on it by the constitution in a particular
sequence.

Also to be determined by the court is whether the National
Assembly, in exercise of its lawmaking powers, can make a law to
change the sequence of elections, already adopted and published by
INEC, pursuant to the powers conferred on it by the constitution,
among others.