Stop plans to disqualify me from contesting presidential election, Emefiele asks court
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to stop his disqualification from contesting in the 2023 presidential election.
Emefiele, in a suit deposed to on his behalf by Mike Ozekhome, SAN, is asking the court for accelerated hearing on the matter so he won’t miss out of the presidential primaries of political parties scheduled for May 30 to June 1.
He said he has been receiving calls from a lot of Nigerians to contest the 2023 presidential election.
“That the Plaintiff is a Nigerian citizen, economist, banker and financial expert, who has been serving as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria since 4th June, 2014.
“That the Plaintiff is a public officer who is being daily called upon to seek election to the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under any political party, and participate as a candidate in the upcoming 2023 presidential elections fixed for 25th February, 2023.
“That the parties’ presidential primaries are scheduled to hold on or about the 30th of May and 1st of June, 2022.
“That it is already less than 30 days to the party’s scheduled presidential primaries.
“That the Plaintiff has brought this suit to urgently challenge the attempt to disqualify and exclude him from participating in the parties’ presidential primaries scheduled to hold on or about the 30th of May and 1st of June, 2022.
“That unless this suit is urgently assigned, with the time for taking steps and filing of processes in the suit abridged by this honourable court, and the suit urgently determined, irreparable damage will be done to the Plaintiff, in that he would be barred from participating in the said parties presidential primaries taking place in less than a month’s time.
“That unless this suit is timeously heard before the imminent events of the primaries, it would foist on this honourable court a situation of fait accompli and complete helplessness and there would be nothing left for the court to decide.
“That it is necessary to grant accelerated hearing and abridgement of time of filing of processes, and hearing the suit as stipulated by the Rules of court in this case,
“That it is necessary to assign a near date for the hearing of the motion for abridgement of time and hearing of the substantive suit as a matter of grave urgency,” part of the court document said.
