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It was two to one
victory for former vice president, Abubakar Atiku, and President
Goodluck Jonathan, as an Abuja High Court yesterday gave two judgments
in favour of Mr. Abubakar and one judgment in favour of Mr. Jonathan.

The judgement was
delivered on the issues of whether or not they are qualified to contest
the presidential primary election billed to take place January 13,
2011, under the constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Ishaq Bello, the
presiding Judge, delivering judgment in the three different suits on
Monday, dismissed the suit filed by Sadiq Aliyu Jada, praying the court
to nullify the waiver granted Mr. Abubakar’s return to the party by its
national leadership, and for an order of injunction restraining the PDP
and other defendants in the suit from taking steps or further actions
towards recognising, screening, clearing, attending to and/or
considering him for the purposes of aspiring, contesting or standing
for election for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria or for any office whatsoever on the party’s platform.

Mr. Bello said that
the plaintiff has no locus standi (legal right) to institute the suit,
stressing that mere membership of the party does not in any way confer
legal right on Mr. Jada to institute the action, describing him “as
meddlesome interloper and a mere busy-body who will not mind his own
business but other people’s business,” and dismissed the suit.

Defendants in the
suit are the PDP national chairman, Okwesileze Nwodo, Abubakar Kawu
Baraje, the party’s national secretary, and former vice president,
Atiku Abubakar.

Also delivering
judgment in a suit filed by Atiku’s associates, Yahaya Kwande, Dubem
Onyia, and Lawal Kaita, asking the court to stop PDP and the INEC from
fielding and accepting Mr. Jonathan as the party’s presidential
candidate in the April 2011 presidential election, Mr. Bello dismissed
the suit on the ground that PDP has a zoning arrangement. According to
him, section 87 of the electoral act provides that only political party
candidates can seek redress or sue after the primaries, and dismissed
the suit, thereby paving way for Mr. Jonathan to contest the primaries.

Mr. Bello, however, said that the suit seeking to stop Mr. Jonathan
from contesting the said poll is different from an earlier suit filed
by Sani Aminu Dutsinma, who is also seeking to stop him based on the
issue of zoning, pointing out that the plaintiffs in both suits have
different characteristics, but also held that the plaintiffs are card
and financial members of the PDP and as such, have the locus standi to
seek redress in a court of law.