As earlier reported today by The Eagle Online on its site, www.theeagleonline.com.ng, the Supreme Court has upheld the elections of the Governors of Delta and Imo States, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan and Owelle Rochas Okorocha.
While Uduaghan was elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, Okorocha was the candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance for the April 2011 governorship election.
In upholding the election of Uduaghan and Okorocha, the Supreme Court threw out the request of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Imo State, Chief Ikedi Ohakim, and that of the candidate of the Democratic Peoples Party, Chief Great Ogboru.
In justifying its position to back Uduaghan and Okorocha, the Supreme Court said, in two separate judgements, that the rulings of the Court of Appeal, which formed the bases for the appeals to the Supreme Court, were null and void as they were delivered outside of the 60 days allowed by the 1999 Constitution for such cases.
The Supreme Court said based on this, it should be taken that the judgements of the Court of Appeal on the two cases do not exist.
It said as the final arbiter in cases relating to governorship elections, it is the only court that can give a judgement and reserve the reasons for the position taken till a later date.
Justice Tanko Muhammed, who delivered the lead judgement, said the ruling of the Benin Division of the Court of Appeal, which formed the basis for the appeal brought by Ogboru and the DPP in the Delta State matter, could not stand because “from 11th November, 2011 when the Delta State Governorship Election Tribunal delivered its judgement, to 27th January, 2012 when the Court of Appeal gave its reasons, was more than 60 days allowed by the constitution.
“A court whose judgement is appealable must give its judgement and the reasons for it together to avoid judicial anarchy.”
He said based on this, the only judgement before the Supreme Court is that the the Delta State Elections Petitions Tribunal, which upheld the election of Uduaghan, a position that the apex court backed.
Justice Nwali Sylvester Ngwuta, who read the judgement that upheld the election of Okorocha, said Section 285 (7) of the constitution, which required that governorship election disputes must be resolved by the court within 60 days, was breached by the Court of Appeal.
Ngwuta said though the judgement in the case was delivered within the mandatory period, the reasons for the decision reached were only made known after the expiration of the days granted by the constitution.
This, according to him, thus made the judgement a nullity.
He therefore pronounced the position of the Supreme Court as being in support of the ruling of the Imo State Elections Petitions Tribunal, which affirmed the election of Okorocha.