The Supreme Court’s Decision Declaring Amaechi the Duly Elected Governor of Rivers State---Unassailable in Law and Logic

By

Prof Jim Akhere

akherejim@hotmail.com

USA.

 

Since the recent decision of the Nigerian Supreme Court declaring Amaechi as the duly elected governor of Rivers state, there have been a plethora of views condemning the decision as bad in law and unsustainable in logic. Perhaps two of the strongest grounds canvassed against the decision are as follows:

a)     Since Amaechi’s name was not on the ballot box/paper in the April election exercise, he was not the person voted for.

b)     Persons and not parties are contemplated in Section 197 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria In other words the Constitution does not regard the parties on the plat form of which candidates contest but solely and exclusively the candidates

Let us briefly consider these two grounds seriatm In doing so it is instructive to briefly state the facts of the case. Amaechi and Omehia vied for their party’s ticket in a primary election for who among them to be their party’s flag bearer in the  April 2007gubernatorial election in Rivers state.The party was the People’s Democratic Party. It is common knowledge that Amaechi won the primary election. Consonant with democratic principles therefore, he Amaechi, ought to contest on the plat form of PDP for the governorship position in Rivers state. That was not to be. We are informed that the PDP, the biggest political party in Africa rather than behave democratic and allow Amaechi to contest the election, most recklessly shoved him aside and substituted Omehia in Amaechi’s place The position in law therefore was that while Omehia was the de facto candidate, Amaechi was the  de jure candidate. The wrongful exclusion of Amaechi from contesting did not make the pretender to the candidacy the rightful candidate. The law sees beyond the appearances. The law saw Amaechi as the rightful candidate. Equity saw Amaechi as the rightful candidate for equity takes as done that which ought to have been done. Thus both  law and equity  saw Amaechi through out the drama as the de jure and therefore the rightful candidate In its judgment, the Supreme Court saw very clearly the picture graphically painted here. That court was not deceived by appearances but was focused on the actual. Omehia’s candidacy could be described as putting nothing upon nothing which of course can not be expected to stand, for nullity upon nullity is nullity It is immaterial that de facto Amaechi did not contest the election as he was unconstitutionally excluded De jure he was the invisible and only candidate on PDP’s plat form and this the Supreme Court had no difficulty in recognizing.

 

The second ground of   objection by those dissatisfied with the Supreme Court’s judgment in Amaechi’s case is the seeming emphasis on “candidate” rather than “party” in Section 197(2) of the 199 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is submitted that the Section under reference does not in any way minimize the importance of the party in the scheme of things merely because it talks about the candidate “winning”. In an election matter we know as a fact that the candidate and the party are either joint petitioners or respondents because our Constitution does not allow independent candidacy .Hence the mention of “candidates” in the section does no in any way diminish from the importance of parties in our scheme of things .After all when we say a party has won an election we at the same time are saying the candidates won. Election petitions are competent only when the candidates and their parties are parties. In the case in point Amaechi was wrongfully denied his earned right to contest .The law will be unjust if it closes its eyes and allows injustice to be perpetrated by allowing Omehia to benefit from a fundamental wrong. To all intents and purposes therefore while Omehia was parading himself as the candidate, Amaechi was the rightful candidate. This obviates the need for the court to order any election whatsoever as the April l2007 election had a valid PDP candidate in Amaechi.

 

The decision in Amaechi’s case is therefore unassailable in law and logic. Coming as it does at the heels of eight years of unbridled unconstitutionality, a period when some of those in government following the example of the erstwhile civilian dictator General Obasanjo did what they liked without regard to the rule of law resulting in treasury looting, graft, money laundering, insensitivity to the plight of the governed, complete disregard of court judgments and a general attitude in those in authority of doing things just because they could,  the decision should be hailed by all those Nigerians interested in sanity in the body politic of our nation. It is a step in the right direction and should not be confused for extreme judicial activism.