A Nigerian medical practitioner based in the United States, Dr. Adah Obekpa, has initiated a legal move to stall the presidential inauguration scheduled for May 29.
Dr. Obekpa in a motion filed at the Supreme Court of Nigeria is urging a delay in the inauguration until the resolution of his standing case before the Court.
His Appeal No. SC/934/2019 filed by his legal counsel obtained by Daily Sun is predicated on his claim of unlawful exclusion from the 2011 general elections.
Obekpa is asserting that he was unjustly barred from participating as the potential presidential candidate of the African Renaissance Party (ARP).
Leaning on the Amaechi Vs Omehia case to strengthen his argument, he posits that the circumstances of his alleged unlawful exclusion deserved priority over any other considerations before the apex court.
“The determination of the circumstances surrounding my unlawful exclusion by the Court should take pre-eminence over any other consideration in the eyes of the law,” he argued in his brief.
The defendants in the original suit are the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the National Assembly and the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who was, at the time, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.
A statement by his counsel, Jonathan Akeme, released yesterday, clarified that the motion before the Supreme Court was filed on Monday, May 15 and there is an application to join President Muhammadu Buhari and the Attorney General of the Federation to the suit.
(Opera)