AKSG Press Release: Guber Case against Gov Akpabio, purposeless - Lawyer

By Aniekan Umanah
Hon. Commissioner, Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Information & Social Re-Orientation

AKSG PRESS RELEASE (Posted: January 25, 2011)

Counsel to Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio, Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Paul Usoro (SAN) has urged a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to dismiss the suit filed by Engr. Frank Okon challenging the nomination of Chief Akpabio as the Akwa Ibom State gubernatorial candidate of the People�s Democratic Party (PDP).

In a resumed hearing of the matter before Honourable Justice Kafarti sitting in Federal High Court No. 3 in Abuja on Monday, January 24, 2011, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria while praying the court to dismiss and / or strike out the suit filed by Engr. Frank Okon contended that the suit was entirely academic in nature, purposeless and undeserving of the court�s judicial time�.

In his written address in support of his notice of preliminary objection, Barrister Usoro said the suit by Engr. Okon had sought to nullify the Governorship Elections Primaries that was conducted by the PDP and held on January 9, 2011 which Okon�s issues and reliefs were centered around. He said on January 11, 2011, Okon and one Mr. Imo Udo who also aspired to be governorship candidate of the PDP had petitioned the party on grounds that they were excluded from participating in the primaries.

He said the PDP acting on their petitions and complaints had cancelled the said primaries and ordered a rerun Governorship Election Primaries in Akwa Ibom State for January 15, 2011. He said the rerun was duly conducted on the scheduled date with three candidates: Engr Okon, Mr Udo and Governor Akpabio on the ballot and was nationally televised on the national television broadcast network.

According to the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, the collation of the rerun primaries was done and the result announced openly and publicly at the venue of the election. He submitted that Okon�s suit was totally academic in nature, purposeless and undeserving of the court�s judicial time given the fact that the plaintiff�s complaint was wholly and entirely against the Governorship Primaries of January 9, 2011 the results of which the PDP had cancelled.

In the words of Usoro (SAN) �Having established that the entire complaint of the applicant in his originating summons is against the 090111, we ask, what is the current fate of the 090111 AKS Governorship Election Primaries and the results thereof? Do they still subsist and therefore capable of donating live issues as between the parties in this suit? To these questions, we respectfully answer in the negative,� he said.

Citing several judicial authorities on complete abhorrence for the hearing and determination of academic and purposeless issues, the learned counsel submitted that it would therefore be a complete waste of the court�s judicial time to devote any more or further time to entertaining Okon�s suit and urged the Judge to dismiss that suit.

Lawyer to the plaintiff, Andem Ndem had pleaded with the Judge to give him two weeks to respond to the submissions by the learned Senior Advocate of Nigeria. But the Judge gave him one week. The matter was subsequently adjourned to January 31, 2011.