The Federal High Court Abuja has fixed September 7, for the hearing of a legal suit seeking the disqualification of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), from contesting the 2023 elections for allegedly presenting the forged certificate.
Justice Ahmed Mohammed fixed the hearing, just as it granted an ex-parte order for substituted service on Tinubu who had invaded personal service of court processes.
The Plaintiffs, who are four chieftains of the APC are praying the court for an order disqualifying Tinubu from contesting or participating in the forthcoming 2023 presidential election as a candidate of All Progressives Congress on the grounds of the information he supplied to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the presidential candidate of the party.
Counsel to the Plaintiff, Goddy Uche, told the court that substituted service has become necessary because all attempts to serve the presidential candidate have proved abortive as he cannot be reached.
In a brief ruling, the Vacation Judge, Justice Mohammed ordered that the Court process to be served on the National Secretariat of APC and that such service shall be deemed as having been properly served on Bola Tinubu.
He further adjourned the case to September 7, for a hearing.
In the suit, the plaintiffs had posed the following questions for determination: Whether having regard to the provision of sections 1 (3); 4(1)and 2; 14(1),(2)(a), and (c)and 42(1)(a)and (b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,1999 (as amended), the provision of section 29(5)of the Electoral Act, 2022 as enacted by the 4th Defendant which modified the provision section 31(5) of the Electoral Act,2010(as amended) is not ultra vires the 4th Defendant and therefore unconstitutional, null, void and of no effect whatever.
Credit: channelstv.com