Lagos elections result transmission: APC, SDP seek leave to appeal court judgment

The Lagos State chapters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) have applied for leave to appeal the judgment of a Federal High Court ordering the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to electronically transmit Saturday’s election results.

Recall that the Governorship and House of Assembly elections will hold on Saturday.

Justice Peter Lifu had delivered the judgment last week in a suit filed by the Labour Party and its Gubernatorial candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour.

Lifu also dismissed an application by SDP to be joined in the suit as an interested party.

NAN reports that the appellants – SDP and its three chieftains: Christopher Janet, Olatunji Ganiyu and Messrs Olufemi Olaniyi – are asking the Court of Appeal to set aside the last week’s judgment of the Lagos Federal High Court, in the suit marked FHC/L/CS/470/ 2023.

They also want the Court of Appeal to declare that the lower court’s failure to hear and determine a preliminary objection they filed along with the joinder application was wrong.

Respondents in the suit are Labour Party, Rhodes-Vivour and eighteen others.

On its part, the APC said it would want to be joined in the appeal as an interested party.

The APC argued that based on the judgment in Suit No: FHC/AB/ABJ/CS/1454/2022 between Labour Party and INEC, the electoral commission was at liberty to prescribe the manner in which election results could or ought to be transmitted by virtue of Sections 50(2) and 70(5) of the Electoral Act of 2022.

Both the APC and SDP are seeking a court order to stay the execution of last week’s judgment by Justice Lifu pending the hearing and determination of the appeal.