Dame Patience Jonathan received victory in the court battle with Aisha Buhari over holding an emergency meeting of African First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM).
The application was thrown down by Abuja High Court on Thursday, May 14. The trial judge, Justice Baba Yusuf, denied to stop the meeting because the two affirmations filed by the plaintiffs were inconsistent and incompetent.
This Day reports that the judge said the affidavits were opposing to Section 115 (3) (4) of the Evidence Act 2011. The judge also said that the application was not presented timeously before the court.
The court stated that the plaintiffs became aware of the facts they overthrew to in their confirmations since April 23, 2015 but did not bring the claim until May to stop the meeting which was to hold today.
It was said that by the nature of the occasion, dignitaries must have arrived Nigeria from all parts of the continent and by its nature, huge resources would have been put in to start up the event.
The notice to stop the meeting was moved yesterday and the court brought its ruling on the same day since the court had no choice as the event was fixed for today.
On their turn, the plaintiffs, who comprise Nana Module Onwodi, Ekemma Ugborough Arisa, Louisa Ono Eikhomun and Deborah Oboh appealed that the said emergency meeting called by Mrs. Jonathan was called in “bad faith” as it had in purpose to scuttle any chance of Aisha Buhari becoming the President of AFLPM.
The complainants had filed a writ of summons for themselves and on behalf of concerned Women for Peace and Development, looking to stop the emergency meeting called by Jonathan aimed at picking a new President of AFLPM from among the other African first ladies to succeed her.
They clarified that the defendant stepped into the shoes of President of AFLPM after Turai Yar’Adua stepped down after the death of her husband, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
The plaintiffs said that the tenure of office of president of the mission is three years, which is awaited to pass in July 2015 and so any effort for the perpetrator to assemble a meeting to choose a new president would amount to shortchanging Buhari who ought to get a chance by May 29, 2015 to participate and even contest the office of president in July, 2015.
However, the First Lady said that her bid for hosting the African First Ladies’ Peace Mission is not to reject the First Lady-elect, Aisha Buhari, the chance to become the president of the mission, but rather to conduct polls to choose a new president.
The wife of Nigeria’s president-elect, has recently said that she is beginning to think the magnificence of the office died with the late Mariam Babangida and she preferred not to be called First Lady of Nigeria.
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