image President Jonathan (right); Vice President Sambo and Acting National Chairman of PDP, Dr Haliru Muhammed at the rally , yesterday
Supporters yesterday walked out of a presidential rally in Kaduna – on a day the cracks within the ruling party widened.
President Goodluck Jonathan addressed a near- empty rally when the crowd left in anger after the party’s flag had been given to its candidates.
It was at the Northwest zonal launch of the presidential campaign.
In Ibadan, Oyo State Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala lost his bid to vacate an injunction against his candidature.
Abia State governorship aspirant Ikechi Emenike obtained a legal backing for his ambition in Abuja when a court said he should be recognised as the PDP candidate instead of Governor Theodore Orji.
But the Governor Orji faction said Emenike is not a member of the party, claiming that he had never participated in its activities.
It said it was sure the matter will be resolved in Orji’s favour.
The faction said: "We are not scared. The governor is very confident of victory knowing that the judiciary will always ensure that justice prevails at the end of the day.
"The truth is that Governor Orji fulfilled all the requirements, from expression of interest to purchase of form.
"He presented himself for screening and eventually emerged the candidate of the PDP. This is unlike the opponent who is an unsuccessful interloper only out to rock the boat – a plot that will definitely fail."
The President’s visit to Rigassa area of the metropolis for the ground breaking of the standard fast train gauge was called off at the last minute. There was no explanation.
The President, however, announced that he has been holding consultations with those who contested the PDP presidential primaries with him. He said everything possible was being done to bring them on board to ensure that the party emerged victorious at the polls.
The walk out on the President is apparently a climax of the frustration of the zone with his candidacy. At the PDP presidential primary, the zone gave the President the least number of votes. Jonathan lost four of the seven northwestern states to his major opponent, Atiku Abubakar. He lost Kano, Zamfara, Kebbi and Sokoto states.
Kano State governorship candidate Rabiu Musa Kwankwanso stole the show at the stadium as intermittent shout of Kwankwaso! Kwankwaso! rent the air each time Kano was mentioned.
The Nation
Jonathan who called for one minute silence for the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, lamented the level of poverty in the country saying, "poverty does not look at faces and speaks no language. We are committed to eradicating poverty in this country.
"We have approved a university each for Jigawa and Katsina states and next year, there will be additional two for Zamfara and Kebbi," he said.
The President described the Northwest as the political hub of the country, saying "the Northwest zone of the country has about 25 per cent of the population and nobody can afford to play with the zone."
Vice-President Namadi Sambo said the President had approved about N50 billion in the 2011 budget for job creation to ensure that the women and youths were employed.
He also said the President had approved the construction of boarding schools for almajiri across the north as well as irrigation scheme and the provision of fertilisers for the next farming season.
The Federal High Court in Abuja which yesterday restrained INEC from recognising Governor Orji as the PDP governorship candidate in the April polls, ordered the electoral body to recognise Emenike and his running mate, Chukwuemeka Okwuonu, as PDP candidates, pending the determination of the suit in which they are challenging Orji’s nomination.
The defendants are the PDP, its Acting National chairman Dr. Haliru Bello, INEC and Orji.
Justice Gabriel Kolawole had, on February 3, declined to grant the application.
Instead, he summoned PDP, Haliru and INEC to come and show cause why the order should not be granted within 72 hours, before adjourning till yesterday for hearing.
Rather than heed the summons, PDP and INEC filed a Preliminary Objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court.
Justice Kolawole chided the defendants for rushing to challenge the jurisdiction of the Court when they had not obeyed its summons.
He said: "Equity aids the vigilant and not the indolent; the Court cannot exercise equitable balance if it fails to uphold its own orders".
Since the defendants did not reply to the ex parte application, the Judge said he was left with no choice than to grant the reliefs earlier denied the Plaintiffs.
He agreed with the plaintiff’s counsel, Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN), that it is not the law that when jurisdiction issue is raised, the court will hands-off helplessly without first assuming jurisdiction before sitting down to consider whether it has jurisdiction or not.
"I grant the 5th, 6th and 7th reliefs sought by the plaintiff pending the hearing and determination of the preliminary objection and the motion on notice in order to vindicate my order of February 1, 2011"
•An order of interim injunction restraining the 1st and 2nd defendants, their servants, agents and or privies from recognising, or submitting to the 3rd defendant the name of any person other than that of plaintiff and his nominated running mate in person of Dr. Chukwuemeka C. Okwuonu as candidate of 1st defendant for the office of Governor and Deputy Governor of Abia state respectively in the 2011 general election pending the hearing and determination the motion on notice.
•An order of interim injunction restraining the 3rd defendant. Itself, servants or privies from accepting or giving any recognition to any other candidates apart from plaintiff/applicant and his nominated running mate in person of Dr. Chukwuemeka C. Okwuonu as gubernatorial and deputy gubernatorial candidates of the 1st defendant at the 2011 general into the office of the Governor of Abia state pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.
•An order of interim mandatory injunction compelling the 3rd defendant to keep open and extant the slot of 1st defendant as one of the political parties entitled to contest and have their names and logo (symbol) on the ballot paper for use in general election 2011 for the office of the Governor of Abia state pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.
The matter was adjourned till February 16, for hearing of the preliminary objection and the substantive suit.
The Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan also yesterday refused to vacate the interim injunction that led to INEC delisting Oyo State Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala’s name from the candidates cleared to contest the April elections.
Trial judge Johnson Shakarho adjourned the case till Monday. The suit was instituted by aggrieved PDP members opposed to the governor.
Leading counsel to the governor - Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) E. A. Mooye and Chief Richard Akinjide (SAN), who said his appearance was in protest and conditional, prayed the court to take their application for discharge of the order and contempt of court together.
But they were opposed by counsels to the plaintiffs led by Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), who stood for former Minister of Special Duties, Elder Wole Oyelese; former Oyo State Deputy Governor, Hazeem Gbolarunmi and 34 others.
Akeredolu said he is not aware of any situation where criminal and civil motions were taken together.
He said his motion should come first before the application for the discharge of the interim injunction by the defendant
Akeredolu said the application for the contempt of court against the governor is hinged on a statement he made ridiculing the court when he described the court order as the height of frivolity.
"Anybody, no matter highly placed, cannot describe your injunction as the height of frivolity and then bring a case before you for determination. Such a person must first purge himself of the contempt and failing to do so, he must not be heard. You cannot be heard in the court you don’t believe in. Immunity should not give you the liberty to be contemptuous of the court or abusive of the court," the former Nigeria Bar Association President, said.
Justice Shakarho adjourned sitting to allow counsels to the defendants to respond to application for contempt and committal while other applications would also be taken.
observed that immediately the party flags were presented to the governorship candidates of the party in the zone, supporters at the stadium began to leave in droves such that only the dignitaries at the state box of the stadium and a handful of others at the popular stand were left at the stadium, by the time the President began to speak
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