Supreme Court dismisses PDP’s suit against Shettima’s nomination

The Supreme Court has upheld the candidacy of Vice-President-elect Kashim Shettima and will not grant the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s request to nullify his joint candidacy with President-elect Bola Tinubu in the February 25 presidential election. 

In a ruling delivered Friday by a five-man panel of the apex court, the court upheld the lower courts’ judgment and dismissed the appellants’ case because the suit constituted an abuse of court process and lack of locus standi. 

The court ruled that the sections of the law relied upon by the appellant cannot be used to interfere in the affairs of rival political parties, “no matter how disgruntled it is.” 

The PDP had argued before the court that Mr Shettima’s selection as Mr Tinubu’s running mate after he had already purchased nomination forms to the House of Assembly violated sections 29(1), 33, 35 and 84{1)}(2)} of the Electoral Act, 2022 (as amended). 

The opposition that Mr Shettima, at the time of his nomination, had not resigned his candidacy in the Borno Central senatorial election. 

The case was first dismissed by the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court after Justice Inyang Ekwo ruled that the matter was an internal party affair and the claimant had not demonstrated that it had the locus standi to challenge the internal party affairs of the All Progressives Congress (APC). 

The Justice James Abundaga-led panel of the appellate court also dismissed the case, agreeing with the high court that the PDP failed to show that it had a lawful basis to dabble in the internal affairs of the APC.