A Federal High Court sitting in Jos the Plateau State Capital on Friday upheld the participation and election of Senator Joshua Dariye as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for Plateau Central Senatorial Zone in the December, 7th, 2014, party primaries.

Mr Alexander Molwus, who was Special Adviser on Political Affairs to Governor Jonah Jang, had gone to court to challenge the eligibility of Dariye in taking part in the PDP Senatorial primaries held in Pankshin LGA.

Dariye had left the Labour Party (LP) and joined PDP, and had won the primaries beating other aspirants including Molwus.

In his affidavit, through his Counsel, J.S. Iliya, Molwus prayed the court to quash the election of Sen. Dariye at the primaries on the ground that he was not formally re-absorbed, but was granted waiver by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party in Abuja.

According to him, the State party leadership did not recognize Dariye as a member of the party until the waiver that came shortly before the primaries.

However, Dariye through his Counsel, Garba Pwul (SAN), had asked the court to strike out the case for lack of merit arguing, “only a political Party that has the power to choose its candidates for any election.

Delivering his judgment, Justice Ambrose Allagoa, said after careful consideration of the arguments put by the counsels in the case, faulted the approach of Molwus to the case.

“The Plaintiff didn’t approach or exhaust the internal mechanism of the party before challenging the election of the defendant (Dariye) in court”.

He said, by section 21 (6) the power to choose a candidate for any election rest with only the political party and not an individual; therefore the plaintiff has failed to prove his case.

Allagoa declared that, “The case is hereby dismissed for lack of merit”.

Speaking shortly after the judgment, Pwul described the verdict as a victory to democracy, saying, “it was a thought judgment brilliantly passed.

On his part, Counsel to Molwus, J.S Iliya, said they would study the judgment closely before taken any decision.

count | 2513

Dariye Floors Molwus as Court Upholds His Election