THE Federal High Court in Abuja has been asked to restrain the Senate from considering any person nominated by the Presidency to replace the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega.
The request formed part of the three prayers contained in a suit filed by a lawyer, Kabir Akingbolu, with the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Senate as defendants.
He argued that the alleged plot by the Presidency to use the Head of Civil Service of the Federation to compel Jega to proceed on a three-month pre-retirement leave was absurd because the INEC Chairman was not a civil servant by virtue of the provisions of Sections 153, 155 and 157 of the Constitution.
Akingbolu urged the court to among others determine whether, by the combined effect of sections 157 and 158 of the Constitution, the alleged plan by the Head of Service to request the INEC Chairman to proceed on terminal leave was not incongruous with the intention of the provisions of the constitution.
He is also seeking the determination of whether Jega, who is currently on a sabbatical leave, could be asked to proceed on the pre-retirement leave envisage under the Civil Service Rules.
Although the plaintiff has served the defendants, the suit filed on March 11 is yet to be assigned to any judge for consideration.
Also, the INEC has appealed the March 4, 2015 judgment by Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja, ordering it to issue a certificate of registration to a group, the Young Democratic Party (YDP).
YDP had, shortly after the judgment, addressed news conferences, where it threatened to compel a postponement of the rescheduled elections if INEC failed to include its name and candidates on the ballot papers, even when it was yet to conduct primaries and the period for parties to submit list of candidates had lapsed.
In a notice of appeal it filed last Monday, INEC faulted Justice Mohammed’s judgment and urged the Court of Appeal, Abuja to set it aside.
It raised five grounds of appeal, including that the trial judge erred in granting audience to a group not yet registered as a party.
The application is expected to be heard on March 23.
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