Court rejects appeal to halt Lagos LG polls

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Monday rejected an appeal to stop the upcoming Lagos Local Government elections scheduled for Saturday.

In his ruling, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke adjourned proceedings filed by an All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmanship aspirant, Raheem Rasaki Alani until November 29.

The judge gave the ruling after upholding the argument of counsel to the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), Mr. Kemi Pinheiro.

Joined as first and second defendants/respondents in a suit numbered FHC/L/CS/677/2021 are the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and LASIEC.

Alani filed the appeal seeking to restrain INEC from making the register for Lagos’ 20 Local Government Areas (LGA) available.

He also argued that LASIEC ought to conduct the election in accordance with the “constitutionally-recognised” LGAs in Lagos, and not based on the 57 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) created by the state.

But Pinheiro has filed a preliminary objection on behalf of LASIEC praying the court to strike out and or dismiss the suit in its entirety.

Pinheiro prayed the court to adjourn proceedings till after the annual vacation of the court because, among others, the intending parties who said they had filed a notice to join the suit, had yet to serve him and until that was done, the case could not go on.

“How can the plaintiff in the face of applications for joinder filed by different parties, which are yet to be served on me, and a motion challenging the jurisdiction of the court from entertaining the case filed by us, be seeking the order of status quo?

“I pray the court to adjourn further proceedings in this case till after the annual vacation of the court, which is starting on July 26,” Pinheiro added.