Patrick Luke, Lawyer to Factional Rivers State APC Governorship Candidate, Senator Magnus Abe has said that the Stay of Execution granted to another Rivers APC Factional Governorship Candidate, Tonye Cole is of no consequence because no directive was given to INEC to include Cole’s name on the list of contestants.
Addressing journalists after the Ruling of the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, Barrister Luke added that there is nothing to stay since the act has been completed.
He said: “The implications is that,legally speaking you can not order for a stay of a completed act.The act they sought to stay is for INEC not to remove the names of the candidates of APC from their list,that act is already completed . For the records on 17th of January 2019, INEC published list of candidates of political parties for 2019 general elections in Rivers state, for Rep’s and the house of Senate and the names of candidates of the APC were omitted because they were obeying the orders of the court of the federal high court of January, 7th 2019
“31st of January 2019 INEC further published the final list for candidates for 2019 general elections, APC and other candidates from other candidates in Rivers state . Obviously, the governorship candidates and house of assembly candidates of All progressives party were omitted. They were not published. That again is in line with the decision of the federal high court 7th January, 2019”.
He added: “The implication is that those acts sought to be stayed have already been completed by the fourth respondent which is INEC and INEC like the court observed, did not file anything or process to refute that they did not publish the names, and in law the moment you don’t file anything to refute what had been said,that is just as uncontradicted and the equation of the law,so the jubilation they have now is unnecessary because the act sought to be stayed has been completed and again the court did not give any order to INEC to put back the names of the people that have been removed and there is no responding orders on INEC”.
The Rivers APC Factional Lawyer noted
the ruling delivered on Monday ,the appellant asked for the stay of execution of the judgment of federal high court delivered on the 7th of January 2019 and also asked for reviewing orders.
While saying that Senator Magnus Abe will appeal, he emphasised that the ruling would be of no assistance to Tonye Cole and his faction.
“The implication is that the judgment has nothing to do with INEC, there is nothing, INEC is to stay after having completed the act”, he said
