A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja Monday restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from going ahead with Saturday’s governorship election in Cross River State.

Justice Abdul Kafarati issued the order following an application filed and argued ex-parte by Mr. Nmerengwa Alozie, counsel to the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and its governorship candidate, Dr. Obol Patrick Okomiso, who are the plaintiffs.

However, INEC still has a chance to salvage the situation as Justice Kafarati abridged the time for the commission to appear before him to defend the suit.

He ordered INEC to come to court on Thursday, February 28th for its defence.

The plaintiffs had argued that INEC did not have the power to reschedule the election to less than 48 days to the initial date fixed for the election.

According to them, the election had been earlier scheduled by INEC to hold on April 14, 2012 in view of the mandatory timetable set by the Electoral Act for submission of names and addresses of party candidates for that election.

They argued that INEC had no legal justification whatsoever to bring forward the date for the said election.

They said: “Apart from the inconvenience to the parties of suddenly shortening the period they had already taken for granted as available for their preparations for the election, the abridgment of time is ultra vires, null and void and would be a ground for nullifying the election, if conducted.”

The plaintiffs had filed the application asking for an order of interim injunction restraining INEC from proceeding to conduct the election into the office of Governor of Cross River State on the 25th of February, 2012 pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed in these proceedings.

They also asked the court for an order directing INEC to maintain status quo ante lite, that is as at 15th of February, 2012, to refrain from taking further action or steps regarding the revised timetable for the conduct of the election into the office of governor of Cross River State of Nigeria pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed on the 15th of February 2012 in these proceedings.

In an affidavit attached to the application, ANPP said that INEC’s reason that it brought the election  forward  because of the judgment of the Supreme Court which removed five state governors from office was not tenable in law.

“That the Supreme Court judgment did not place any constraint on INEC to abridge or tamper with the timetable it had set on the 11th August 2011 for the governorship election in Cross River State nor has it created any situation which the 1999 Constitution cannot cope with as the governor and his deputy duly vacated their office pursuant to the judgment and the Speaker of the House of Assembly has taken over as governor pursuant to Section 191(2) of the Constitution,” the affidavit added.

They further explained that the Speaker, under the constitution, could act as governor for a period of 90 days until elections were held and a new governor sworn in and there was no need for INEC to conduct an election immediately.

They said that INEC would not lose anything if the elections were held on 14th of April, 2012 as earlier scheduled.

“That on the other hand, the applicants will be prejudiced if the election is brought forward to the 25th of February  2012 as INEC now proposes, because the validity of the nomination of the 2nd plaintiff will be jeopardised by non-compliance with section 31(1) of the Electoral Act 2010,” the affidavit added.