Court orders INEC to recognise candidates from Sheriff-led faction

•We ‘ll discharge the order on Monday — PDP
 By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
A Federal High Court in Abuja, yesterday, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to only recognise candidates in Ondo and Edo states endorsed by the Ali Modu Sheriff-led National Working Committee, NWC.
The interim order followed delivered by Justice Okon Abang was upon a suit filed by two governorship aspirants of the PDP in Edo and Ondo states – Chief Benson Akingboye (Ondo) and Ehiozuwa
Johnson Agbonayinma (Edo).
 The ruling followed a motion on notice for interlocutory orders filed by the plaintiffs. The PDP in Edo State has, however, pledged to discharge the interim injunction on Monday upon the claim that the suit was filed in bad faith. PDP sources in Edo State said that the suit could never benefit the Sheriff faction since the faction failed in serving INEC with the 21 day notice required to conduct a governorship primary. Earlier in the course of hearing the motion, two Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Emmanuel Ukala and Olagoke Fakunle, locked horns over who was duly briefed to represent the PDP. Whereas Ukala maintained that he was duly briefed by the Markafi led faction of the party, Fakunle on the other hand, said he was briefed by the Sheriff-led faction. However, Justice Abang, while resolving the dispute, noted that while a Federal High Court in Lagos, in two separate orders on May 12 and May 20, recognised the leadership of Sheriff and restrained parties from proceeding with the party’s national convention in Port Harcourt, the Markafi leadership of the PDP emerged from a convention against which there was a pending order. He said there was an element of doubt about the legality of the convention from which Markafi-led Caretaker Committee emerged. Consequently, the court said it was minded to only recognise Fakunle who was briefed by the Sheriff-led faction of the party. Meanwhile, Fakunle told the court that the Sheriff-led faction was not opposed to the interlocutory reliefs sought by the plaintiffs.