2019 Presidential Ticket War: Jerry Gana Drags Donald Duke To Supreme Court

2019 Presidential Ticket War: Jerry Gana Drags Donald Duke To Supreme Court

Professor Jerry Gana’s Presidential Campaign Team says its candidate
will appeal the court judgment that recognised former Governor of Cross
River, Donald Duke, as the Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential
candidate.  

According to Ike Neliaku, the Director-General of the campaign
Team at a press conference on Friday in Abuja, he described the judgment
as unacceptable and a miscarriage of justice.  

The Court of Appeal, Abuja division, in a unanimous decision of the
panel, on Thursday recognised Duke at the party’s presidential
candidate. The three-man panel of the appellate court in a judgment
delivered by Justice Abdul Aboki on the appeal filed by Duke reversed
the earlier judgment of an Abuja High Court which upheld Gana as the
party’s candidate.  

Neliaku, who said that the team’s confidence in God and the avowed
integrity of the judiciary remained intact, however, raised some
concerns about the judgment. The concern according to him include the
role played by the party’s National  Chairman, Chief Olu Falae,  and
what he termed as “obviously unfair and skewed composition of the Appeal
Court panel.’’  

He said that while the chairman had earlier expressed optimism that
the judgment was going to be in favour of Duke, he also alleged that two
of the panel Justices  came from “the home states of either Duke or his
running mate. We were utterly shocked, dumbfounded and dismayed when
the appellant lead Counsel thanked the Justices for their adventure into
other matters not canvassed by the parties in the Appeal. This
absurdity is one of its kind!

Arising from the above and many other lacunas and contradictions in
the judgment, we have carefully weighed the views and options presented
by our stakeholders and supporters across the world, and resolved to
accede to what is in the long term interest of our democracy.  

It is therefore our considered opinion that the judgment of the Court
of Appeal is erroneous, contradictory and a miscarriage of justice. The
decision is therefore not acceptable to us. Accordingly, our candidate,
Gana, has resolved to appeal the judgment at the Supreme Court.  

We believe that, apart from setting the records straight and
clarifying matters of Constitutional Order, this will strengthen our
electoral law, enrich our jurisprudence, as well as deepen and widening
our democracy.’’  

Neliaku, however, congratulated Duke for his victory at the appeal Court and also advised him to commence his campaign.