Abuja division of the Court of Appeal today declared that presidential candidate of Nigeria's ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Goodluck Jonathan is eligible to seek reelection in the forthcoming presidential election slated for March 28, 2015.
Besides, the court insisted that in as much as President Goodluck Jonathan had only taken the oath of office as elected President only once in 2011, he was qualified to stand for election into the office another time.
The appellate court in its lead judgment delivered by Justice Datijo Yahaya, and which was unanimously adopted by four other members of the appeal panel which included: Justices Akomolafe Wilson, T Y Hassan, Ekanem Joseph and M Mustapha, held that President Jonathan could not be said to have earlier taken the oath of office as President twice as he became President upon the death of President Umar Yar’Adua, not through election.
The Court of Appeal also declared that President Jonathan only took over the office of the President in 2011 by mere constitutional provisions.
The appellate court said, "He (Jonathan) has not been elected twice. He only completed the unexpired tenure of the late President Yaradua.
"His tenure started on May 29, 2011. The operative word is election. The Constitution says if one had been elected at two previous elections."
The judgment came sequel to an appeal filed on April 16, 2013 by one Cyracus Njoku, who had challenged the verdict delivered by Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi, then of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory on March 13, 2013.
Njoku had filed the appeal after Justice Oniyangi dismissed his (Njoku’s) suit and held that President Jonathan was eligible to contest in 2015.
The court noted that in Njoku’s appeal, President Jonathan was not elected as President in 2007, and that in 2010, he did not stand for election as President, but only stood for election in that capacity in 2011.
Photo credit: National Mirror
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