Politics

Court Rejects PDP’s Attempt to Block Kwara LG Elections

Published by Tope Fakinlede on September 17th, 2024.

Court Rejects PDP’s Attempt to Block Kwara LG Elections

On Tuesday, Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja overturned an ex-parte order that had previously prevented the Kwara State government from holding its Local Government elections scheduled for September 21.

Justice Lifu ruled that the initial order, issued on July 29, had lapsed beyond the 14-day limit set by law. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had filed a suit, numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/1061/2024, challenging the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWASIEC), the Kwara Attorney General, the Inspector-General of Police, and the State Security Service.

PDP, represented by Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN, argued that KWASIEC had disregarded local electoral laws and improperly sought voter registers from INEC. They claimed this violated the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act of 2022, and Kwara State’s Local Government Electoral (Amendment) Law of 2024.

Justice Lifu had initially issued an ex-parte order to block INEC from providing the voter register to KWASIEC for the upcoming elections. However, in Tuesday’s ruling, Justice Lifu agreed with the arguments of KWASIEC’s lawyer, Johnson Usman, SAN, and Kwara’s Attorney General, Senior Sulyman, SAN, that the order had exceeded its legal duration.

“The ex-parte order has been in place since July 29, 2024, and has exceeded the six-week limit, so it is hereby set aside,” stated Justice Lifu.

Additionally, Justice Lifu dismissed a contempt charge filed by PDP against the K