Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi, ruling on a suit filed by a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, Cyriacus Njoku, seeking to bar Jonathan from seeking reelection, said Jonathan cannot be stopped based on the arguments propounded.
Njoku had sought the backing of the court to pronounce Jonathan ineligible for the 2015 election because he is deemed to have done two terms.
His first term, according to the argument, was when he took over from the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, with his second term being when he contested in 2011.
Ruling on Friday afternoon, Justice Oniyangi said Jonathan’s assumption of office in 2010 after the death of Yar’Adua was in line with the National Assembly’s ‘Doctrine of Necessity’ and not because he contested an election.
Oniyangi said Njoku lacked the locus standi to sue Jonathan.
He said: “After the death of Umar Yar’Adua, there was no election or bye election.
“President Jonathan was merely asked to assume the office of the president in line with Doctrine of Necessity.
“He was not elected as the President but was made to assume office by virtue of Yar’Adua’s death.
“Having exhausted the late president’s tenure, he sought for his party’s ticket and ran for the office of the president successfully in the 2011 general election.
“He is therefore currently serving his first tenure of office and if he so wishes, he is eligible to further seek his party’s ticket through the party’s primary election and to run for office in 2015.”
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Airtel Nigeria.
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