A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, on Monday, barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from engaging the services of the chairman of the Lagos State Parks Management Committee, Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, to distribute election materials in the state.
The presiding judge, Chukwujekwu Aneke, made the order in a suit filed by the Labour Party (LP).
Other applicants in the suit were the LP governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, African Democratic Congress (ADC), its Lagos State gubernatorial candidate, Funsho Doherty, and Boot Party and its governorship candidate Wale Oluwo.
Only INEC was listed as the defendant in the suit.
Urging the court to grant the interim order, the applicants counsel, Abass Arisekola, moved the application with an affidavit of urgency, brought pursuant to section 13(3) of the Federal High Court Act, Laws Of The Federation Of Nigeria 2004; Order 26 Rules 8 and 9, Order 28 Rule 1(2) of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2009, and under the court’s inherent jurisdiction.
Arisekola also told the court the grounds for orders sought includes the fact that his client’s who are plaintiffs/applicants will be severely threatened by a lack of free and fair elections in Lagos State, adding: “It is in the interest of justice to restrain INEC from taking any step or further steps that may foist a fait accompli on the substantive suit.”
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After listening to the counsel, Justice Aneke said: “I have listened to the submission of counsel and also perused the motion with affidavit of urgency and the grounds for the application. I found merit in the application. The order of interlocutory injunction is hereby granted.”
After the court granted the interim order, the applicants’ counsel pleaded for an abridgement of time to hear the substantive suit, because of the forthcoming general election.
Justice Aneke granted the application for abridgement of time and adjourned the hearing of the substantive suit to February 22, 2023, while ordering that all the processes in the suit be served on INEC.
INEC had said it has no option than to engage Lagos State Parks Management Committee to distribute election materials and personnel in the state during the 2023 general election.
The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Lagos State, Olusegun Agbaje, said this recently while responding to questions on controversies surrounding the engagement of the Parks Management Committee led by MC Oluomo to distribute election materials.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, had banned the operations of the Nation Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) in the state and set up Parks Management Committee to administer operations.
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, had however warned INEC not to use the Parks Management Committee led by MC Oluomo, a former NURTW Chairman and APC stalwart, to distribute election materials in order not to compromise the election’s integrity.
Atiku, in a statement issued on February 2 by his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, said INEC must preserve the sanctity of the election and ensure that there is no room for electoral malpractice.
He said in doing so, the electoral umpire must ensure that the MC Oluomo-led committee was not mobilised to move materials.
He stressed that MC Oluomo remains a member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council and had held solidarity rallies for the party and its presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.
INEC later said its contract for logistics delivery for the forthcoming general election in Lagos State is with individual drivers and not with MC Oluomo.
