THE Supreme Court, yesterday, May 26, struck out a suit seeking the disqualification of the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and the vice president-elect, Senator Kashim Shettima, over alleged double nomination in the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), through its Counsel, Dr. Mike Ozekhome (SAN).
The PDP alleged that Shettima had double nomination as senatorial candidate for Borno Central senatorial district and vice-presidential candidate under the All Progressives Congress (APC).
But delivering judgment, Justice Adamu Jauro imposed a fine of N2million on PDP for “poke-nosing” in the internal affairs of the APC in the conduct of its primary elections and nomination of its candidates.
The court held that the PDP’s suit praying disqualification of Tinubu and Shettima on the ground of alleged double nomination by Shettima was grossly lacking in merit and dismissed it.
It agreed with Tinubu’s lawyer, Chief Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), that PDP acted as busy body and meddlesome interloper in the APC’s affairs unjustly.
The apex court also held that apart from the fact that PDP lacked requisite jurisdiction to institute the suit, the party also failed to provide scintilla of evidence that Shettima engaged in double nomination.
“The claim of PDP on the alleged double nomination of the vice president-elect is most unfortunate and a clear deliberate mischief to mislead the court and the country.
“No matter the pains of the PDP on how APC conducted its primary elections and nominated its candidates, PDP must remain an onlooker.
“It is abundantly clear that the appellant (PDP), in the totality of its position in the instant case, is peeping and poke-nosing into the affairs of another party as a busy body and meddlesome interloper,” the court held.
It noted that PDP’s action was painful because it used the social media to set a booby trap for the Supreme Court to blackmail it, a move it described as most unfortunate, unwarranted and uncalled for.
