TELL Magazine

The F‎ederal High Court sitting in Benin City, on Tuesday, reserved till Monday next week, legal arguments on an exparte motion seeking to prevent the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the party’s National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, from adopting direct primaries to elect Edo State governorship candidate of the party.

Joined in the suit‎, is the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Factional deputy state chairman of the party, Kenneth Asemokhai, and a governorship aspirant of the party, Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, who approached the Court, are seeking to r‎estrain the APC from adopting the direct mode of primaries.

They cited COVID-19 and 2018 APC NEC resolution as the ground for their action.

According to the plaintiffs who were represented by John Odubela, senior advocate of Nigeria, (SAN), APC Constitution provides that the states should suggest mode of primaries to the NWC, and that they have suggested indirect primaries in which 4,000 delegates would participate with 500 delegates representing each ward.

An argument however ensued when defendants’ lawyers led by Henry Ogbodu (SAN), appeared in the matter and demanded to be served the motion papers.

Consequently, the presiding Judge, Justice M.D Umar, declined to grant the exparte motion but instead gave the defendants three days to file their papers to show cause why the injunction should not be granted and adjourned the case till next week Monday.