Justice Ahmed Mohammed ruled on Wednesday that the plaintiff lacked the legal standing to bring the case before the court.
Justice Mohammed ruled that the plaintiff lacked the legal standing to contest Tinubu and Kashim Shetima's nomination because he had not demonstrated that he is an APC member or that he participated in the primary election that produced Tinubu and his running mate.
The judge, who supported the preliminary objection made by the APC and Tinubu, said that the plaintiff's lack of standing deprived the court of the authority to hear the case.
In a supporting affidavit, Momoh asserted that the APC owes a constitutional duty to maintain the ideals of social justice, equity, national cohesion, and unity of Nigeria in selecting a combined ticket for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
He stated that the nomination of Muslims as presidential and vice-presidential candidates in a country with varied religious preferences runs antithetical to the spirit of national cohesiveness, unity, and integration.
The petitioner argued that the APC was prohibited by law from doing actions that could undermine social justice, equity, and unity, and was therefore ineligible to nominate individuals of the same faith.
Momoh added that the defendants—APC, Tinubu, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)—"have a constitutional duty to ensure that the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall not be governed, nor shall any person or group assume control of the Government of Nigeria or any part thereof, except in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution."
"The nomination of the APC's presidential and vice-presidential candidates as members of the same religious religion is exclusive, divisive, and capable of polarising the country along religious lines; it also contradicts the sacred values of social justice."
Momoh petitioned the court, among other things, for an order nullifying APC and Tinubu's participation in the presidential election on the grounds that the nomination of Muslim-Muslim candidates is unconstitutional and contrary to the spirit and letter of sections 14, 15, and 224 of the 1999 Constitution.
(Source: eyewitnessngr.com)
