2015: PRP, others urge court to bar INEC from receiving foreign funding

Ahead of the 2015 general election, the Balarabe Musa-led de-registered Peoples Redemption Party has asked an Abuja Federal High Court to stop the Independent National Electoral Commissiopn from receiving foreign funding.
In the originating summon, slated for hearing on Wednesday, PRP and two others urged the court to compel INEC to comply with financial accountability as a condition for accepting further foreign donations.
They contended that INEC failed to account for the previous funds it had received from foreign donors.
The plaintiffs also claimed that INEC was discriminating against them in its preparations for the 2015 general elections.
The other plaintiffs to the suit are the de-registered Hope Democratic Party and the People Progressives Party.
Musa, the first civilian governor of old Kaduna State was in court for the case.
Also in the court were the national chairmen of the HDP and PPP, Chief Ambose Oworu and Dr. Damian Ogbonna.
The Centre for Public Probity Studies, the National Assembly, the European Union and the United States Agency for International Development were named as defendants to the suit.
Other defendants are the United Nations Development Programme and the Department for International Development are also joined as co-defendants.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare, among other prayers, that INEC was not entitled to receiving further foreign funding from the EU, USAID, UNDP and other financial donors for its activities.
They also contended that INEC’s decision to de-register 28 political parties, including the plaintiffs, was voided by court, but the electoral body had refused to obey the decision without appeal.
The plaintiffs said: “The first and second defendants’ (INEC and National Assembly) earlier efforts through insertion of questionable and illegal clauses in the Electoral Act to enable them deregister political parties at will was recently voided by a court.
“They have, instead of obeying the court judgment, resorted to acts of subterfuge to trample upon valid judgments of court of law.
“The fund they seek from donor foreign countries have never been accounted for or used for the purpose of mobilising or supporting needed structures for free and fair elections.”
The plaintiffs also brought an application for interlocutory injunction seeking to stop INEC from excluding them from participating in the2015 elections.
They urged the court to order the defendants not to prevent them from sponsoring or canvassing for votes as political parties in 2015 elections, pending the final determination of the suit.
NAN reports that hearing in the suit was stalled due to the absence of the presiding judge, Justice Evoh Chukwu.
The case was, therefore, rescheduled for September 30.