Members of the National Assembly elected on the Labour Party’s platform are facing a tsunami at the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal.
Already, the development poses a challenge to their ascent to prominence in national politics.
According to Platinum Times, the Labour Party, which was inspired by Peter Obi’s movement, became the third-largest party in the Senate and House of Representatives as a result of the 2023 general election results.
The party overcame a number of well-known politicians on their way to becoming the third force.
However, the decisions rendered by the state’s tribunals have been extremely devastating for the politicians who support the LP program. A large number of lawmakers have been removed from office due to improper nominations and other pre-election issues.
The tribunal in Asaba, the capital of Delta State, dismissed Ngozi Okolie as a Rep and proclaimed former minority leader Ndudi Elumelu the victor, dealing the Labour Party its first defeat.
Other Labour Party lawmakers have been removed from office during the past three months by a number of tribunals across the nation, including Ibe Okwara and Emeka Nnamani in the state of Abia, Amobi Ogah, Sunday Nnamchi, Chijioke Okereke, Seyi Sowunmi, and Sunday Umeha, all of whom are Reps members.
The court dismissed Thaddeus Attah as the representative for Lagos State’s Etiosa Federal Constituency and ordered supplementary elections in a few voting booths.
But there is still hope, as the Court of Appeal has already made a decision in the matter of Ngozi Okolie and Ndudi Elumelu. The Court of Appeal invalidated the Tribunal’s decision and declared Okolie to be the election’s legitimate victor.
According to legal experts, the Court of Appeal’s ruling on Kashim Shettima and Peter Obi will also have an effect on the parliamentarians from the Labour Party, particularly with regard to pre-election issues.
Recall that during the presidential tribunal, the ruling APC had argued that Obi had not been properly nominated as the party’s candidate for president, but the tribunal determined that it was a pre-election problem.
The double nomination lawsuit against Shattima was similarly determined to be a pre-election affair.
A lawyer named Tejumola Banigbe told Platinum Times that the presidential tribunal’s decision would set a precedent that could affect the destiny of the Labour Party lawmakers.
“To start with, the issue of party membership is a pre-election matter, and an internal party affair.
“Anyone, who is not a member of that party, challenging the same would be deemed by law a meddlesome interloper.
“Rightly put, the ruling of the PEPT on the issue of party membership had earlier been settled in the case of APM v. INEC (reported in 2023). In fact, this ground does not form the basis of qualification in the constitution and no section of the Electoral Act supersedes the constitution,” Banigbe said.
He, however, stated that it may be too early to preempt the ruling of the appellant court because of the “recurring inconsistencies in the judgments of various judicial divisions of this Appellate Court.”
Nigeria’s judiciary has been under scrutiny in the past couple of years over judgements that many considered to be inconsistent.
The case of Ahmad Lawan easily comes to mind.
Henry Eni-Otu, a legal practitioner in Abuja, said the Court of Appeal is mostly likely to affirm the victory of the Labour Party lawmakers.
“For these cases, particularly the Labour Party members whose elections were nullified by the various tribunals, on the ground of nomination or sponsorship or membership of Party, the appellate court would most likely upturn such judgments and confirm their elections.
“As it is equally trite, the issue of membership of a Party is non-justiciable,” he said.
He added that,
“The question of nomination and sponsorship as rightly decided by the Presidential Tribunal is pre-election and cannot be adjudicated upon at the Election Tribunal.
“However, there is a caveat that must be noted as equally recognized by the PEPT, that is where there is an earlier judgment on the question of qualification, sponsorship and nomination, such a judgment can be brought forth at the Election Tribunal.”
Similarly, the New Nigeria Peoples Party is facing difficulties at the tribunal in Kano State.
So far, the NNPP has lost three seats in the House of Representatives.
However, the NNPP got a reprieve last week when the Court of Appeal in Abuja, validated the election of Umar Zakari by overturning the decision of the lower court.
Just like the NNPP, the fate of the Labour Party lawmaker is in the hands of the Appeal Court.