The Federal High Court, held in Abuja on Monday, denied Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiere. To his president’s ambitions.
Emefiere sought an injunction against INEC and AGF through the lawyer Mike Ozekome SAN to prevent him from being forced to resign until 30 days before the general election.
Emefiere denied being a politically appointed civil servant, but was not subject to Article 84 (12) of the 2022 New Election Act in the assessment application filed on Monday.
Governor CBN demanded that the court use Article 318 of the 1999 Constitution to prevent defendants from demanding his resignation until 30 days before the February 2023 presidential election.
Emefiere has filed a lawsuit unless the sale and submission of the presidential nomination form expires on Wednesday and INEC and AGF are ordered to maintain their prewar status as of May 5. He expressed concern that he would sometimes be forced to resign. His form was accepted by the appropriate authorities.
In motion, Mr. Ozekome did not tell him which party his client wanted to fight under, but the court applied to determine the constitutionality of his (Emefiere’s) decision. Said it was needed.
“The plaintiff is now the governor of CBN. He wants to run for the president of Nigeria in the upcoming elections in 2023.
Also read: Emefiere, struggling over the president’s bid, is seeking an Ozekome lawyer for legality.
“But he’s in the dilemma of being able to run. Can he run? If he can run, when should he resign as Governor of the CBN? ??
“We want the interpretation of the law as it is today,” he said.
He claimed that Emefiere was a civil servant under Article 318 of the 1999 Constitution.
He said that only politically appointed persons were captured in section 84 (12) of the 2022 Election Act, which he said was overthrown by the Federal High Court in Umuahia, Avia.
According to him, the issue is currently on appeal and the Court of Appeals has not ruled.
“Even if the Court of Appeals overturns that ruling, are the plaintiffs politically appointed? Our answer is no,” he said.
He further argued that Emefiere was bound only by Article 137, which states that civil servants must resign at least 30 days before the election.
“This is the Constitution and we want a constitutional interpretation of this issue,” he said.
However, in his decision, Judge Mohammed did not approve the motion.
Rather, he postponed the matter until May 12 due to the ruling.
The judge ordered INEC and AGF to appear by noon Thursday and explained why Emefiere’s prayer was not accepted.
He ordered all defendants to be provided with all applications, including the assessment system submitted in the course of the matter.
He also instructed the defendant to issue a hearing notice to appear on the above day to show why prayer should not be given.
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