INEC Joined In 71 Pending Cases, Expresses Concern Over Binding Consequential Orders

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed concern over the rising multiplicity of litigations, including pending 71 cases it is joined in various courts.

It said most of the law suits seeking reliefs including the case of Ebonyi state Governor’s defection has binding consequential orders on the commission.

INEC disclosed this in a statement signed by its National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, Thursday, during which, it deliberated on a wide range of issues, including the rising tide of litigations that do not directly involve the Commission, but in which the principal parties joined it.

Commenting specifically on the case of Ebonyi state governor, the deputy governor and 16 members of the State House of Assembly which defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to All Progressives Congress, Okoye noted that the commission has been served with nine separate Orders and Motions from various Courts.

The full text of the statement reads below:

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) met today, Thursday, March 17, 2022, and deliberated on a wide range of issues, including the rising tide of litigations that do not directly involve the Commission, but in which the principal parties joined it.

The Commission was briefed by its Litigation and Prosecution Department, including an update on litigations, showing that in the last three months, the Commission has been joined in seventy-one new cases in various Courts across the country. Most of these cases, including the widely discussed one on Ebonyi State, involve either intra-party issues or litigants seeking for various reliefs from the Courts that entail consequential orders that are binding on the Commission.

THE CASE OF EBONYI STATE
The Commission today listed this matter for deliberation. It involves Court cases on the defection of the Governor and Deputy-Governor of Ebonyi State and sixteen members of the State House of Assembly from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). The Commission has been served with nine separate Orders and Motions from various Courts on this matter. Just as the Commission was about to commence deliberation on them, its attention was drawn to additional Court processes served today in respect of the matter.

Consequently, the Commission decided to defer its deliberation on the Ebonyi cases and stepped down the listed Memorandum to enable its Legal Services and Clearance Committee to study the new processes in the light of the previously served ones and advise the Commission comprehensively. The Commission will meet again next week to deliberate on the matter and thereafter make its decision public.

Festus Okoye Esq
National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee.
Thursday 17th March 2022.