Court of Appeal on Monday in Abuja reserved November 8 for hearing in a suit seeking the removal of Sullivan Chime as governor of Enugu State.
Justice M.D Dongban-Mensem, who presided over the sitting, gave the date after the court directed the appellant to serve the governor with all documents associated with the appeal.
Chief Alexander Obiechina, approached the court challenging the refusal of a Federal High Court, Abuja, to annul the nomination process that produced Chime on April 26, 2011 as the PDP candidate in the gubernatorial election.
In an enrolled order, Dongban-Mensem held that the record of proceedings in Notice of Appeal No. CA/A/358/2012 and all the legal processes should be served on the governor through the state’s liaison office in Abuja.
“Upon reading the motion ex-parte filed on Oct. 21, 2013, and the affidavit of Bello Ibrahim sworn to on the same date before the court.
“ And after hearing counsel to the appellants, Oba Maduabuchi, it is hereby ordered that all processes relevant to the determination of this appeal shall accordingly be served on the 3rd respondent, Sullivan Chime.
“That the processes shall be served on the liaison officer of the said Enugu State Liaison Office, and such service shall be deemed as properly served on the third respondent.
Obiechina is urging the appellate court to determine whether there was a valid special congress or primary election held in Enugu State on January 12, 2011,’’ he said.
He said sections 85(1) and 87(1)(4)(b) of the Electoral Act, 2010 were not followed in the case of the governor.
Maduabuchi, counsel to the appellant, urged the court to nullify the primary election and order the governor to vacate the office.
The Independent National Electoral Commission and the Peoples Democratic Party are the other respondents in the suit.
It will be recalled that Justice Adamu Bello of the Federal High Court on May 21, 2012, declined to grant the prayers of the appellant.
Bello held that the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the substance of the case.
However, the judge maintained that the issue of nomination and sponsorship of a candidate for any given election was within the realm of the domestic affairs of a political party.