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One of presidential
aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sarah Jibril, has
asked a Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, to stop the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting the nomination of
Atiku Abubakar as PDP’s presidential aspirant for the April 2011
general election.

Mrs. Jibril, in a
motion she filed, is seeking an order of interlocutory injunction
restraining the PDP and INEC, their agents or privies, from processing
or considering Mr. Abubakar’s application as the party’s aspirant for
the presidential election because of his reportedly being the consensus
candidate of all the PDP presidential aspirants from the North.

Specifically, Mrs.
Jibril, the only female PDP aspirant, said Mr. Abubakar is not the
consensus candidate of the north and that she, being an aspirant, was
not consulted nor called to any meeting where the alleged adoption of
Mr. Abubakar was decided upon. She therefore, seeks an injunction
restraining defendants in the suit from accepting his candidacy,
pending the determination of the substantive suit where she is
challenging his nomination as the North’s consensus candidate.

Defendants in the
suit are the PDP; its national chairman, Okwesilieze Nwodo; INEC; its
chairman, Attahiru Jega; the chairman of the Northern Political Leaders
Forum, Adamu Ciroma; and former vice president, Atiku Abubakar.

In addition, she
wants the court to restrain the PDP and Mr. Nwodo from presenting Mr.
Abubakar to INEC as PDP’s presidential aspirant for the 2011 general
election pending the determination of the substantive suit.

Claims of discrimination

In an affidavit in
support ot the motion, she said she is the most qualified PDP
presidential aspirant, as she has intimidating resume and better
qualifications than all the other aspirants from the north put together
and that she never had any criminal records or any case of fraud
against her.

Furthermore, she
said she was never invited to be heard, like other
co-aspirants/contestants considered by the Northern Political Leaders
Forum, and that all her efforts to reach the forum was rebuffed.

“I was never
invited nor considered for presentation as the consensus candidate of
the 19 Northern states under the platform of the 1st defendant (PDP),
despite the fact that I am a known presidential aspirant from one of
the Northern states under the platform of the 1st defendant,” she said.

She alleged
discrimination against her by the Adamu Ciroma-led forum on the bases
of her sex and religion, which she noted was a violation of her
constitutional right to fair hearing and constitutional right not to be
discriminated against on the bases of sex and religion.

Mrs. Jibril said
the former vice president’s nomination as a consensus candidate for the
presidency of the PDP will put her in a politically disadvantaged
position and unequal playing ground with Mr. Abubakar during the
conduct of PDP’s presidential primaries slated for January 13, 2011.

In an affidavit of urgency in support of her motion, she said,
“except the reliefs being sought in this application are urgently
granted, I will suffer irreparable loss that cannot be compensated in
financial terms on the 13th January, 2011 when the 1st defendant will
conduct its presidential primaries for all her presidential aspirants.”