The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Lagos State have applied for leave to appeal a Federal High Court judgment that ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to electronically transmit the results of Saturday’s governorship and State House of Assembly elections. The APC, although not a party to the original case, argues that the judgment also affects it as a sponsor in the same elections as the SDP, and therefore it is entitled to appeal.
The appeal follows a suit brought before the court by the Labour Party (LP) and its governorship candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes‑Vivour. Justice P. O. Lifu ruled that INEC must transmit the results electronically or digitally. The respondents in the APC’s appeal include the LP, Rhodes‑Vivour, 40 other party chieftains, and INEC.
In its filing at the appellate court, the APC seeks five specific reliefs:
1. An order granting leave to appeal as an interested party against the Federal High Court’s final decision.
2. An order permitting the separate filing of the Notice of Appeal at the Appeal Court Registry, rather than at the lower court’s Registry, as a departure from the court’s rules.
3. An order allowing a departure from the rules governing the filing of Briefs of Argument and setting the appeal for oral argument only.
4. A constitutional order halting the execution of Justice Lifu’s judgment pending the appeal’s hearing and determination.
Earlier, the SDP, also an interested party, had sought to void the March 8, 2023 judgment but was refused, prompting its application for leave to appeal as a non‑joinder. In the suit before the Court of Appeal, the appellants—SDP and its three chieftains (Olufemi Olaniyi, Christopher Janet, and Olatunji Ganiyu) and the LP (Rhodes‑Vivour and 18 others)—requested four reliefs:
1. An order setting aside Justice Lifu’s decision dated March 8, 2023 (Suit No: FHC/L/CS/470/2023).
2. An order allowing an appeal against that decision.
3. An order dismissing the Originating Summons filed in Suit No: FHC/L/CS/370/2023 for lack of merit and incompetence.
The APC also urged the Appeal Court to take judicial notice of a separate High Court judgment from Abuja, where the LP was a respondent. That judgment (Suit No: FHC/AB/ABJ/CS/1454/2022) held that, under Sections 50(2) and 70(5) of the Electoral Act 2022, INEC has the discretion to prescribe the manner in which election results are transmitted.
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