Court dismisses suit seeking APC, Oyetola’s disqualification at Osun polls

July 14, 2022

Oyetola

Justice Inyang Ekwo of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday dismissed a suit seeking to disqualify Governor Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from contesting the Osun State Governorship election scheduled for Saturday.

The Judge dismissed the suit on six grounds that the plaintiff, Moshood Olalekan Adeoti, a Chieftain of the APC, failed to disclose any cause for instituting the legal action.

Justice Inyang held that the suit brought before the court by the former governorship aspirant constituted a gross abuse of the court process and that the plaintiff did not exhaust the internal mechanism before rushing to court.

He upheld the arguments of Olusegun Jolaawo (SAN) that membership of the APC’s Caretaker Extraordinary and Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) by Governor Oyetola in which the suit is predicted is an ad-hoc body and not the real APC’s office recognised by the party’s Constitution.

Adeoti had sought disqualification of the incumbent governor, Gboyega Oyetola from the governorship election in the state.

Plaintiff, in the originating summons, prayed the court to nullify Oyetola’s candidacy on the grounds that the governor contested in the February 19 primary election as a member of the APC’s National Caretaker Extraordinary and Convention Planning Committee (CECPC).

According to the plaintiff, the act contravened the provisions of Section 222 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and Article 31(iii) of the APC, October 2014 (as amended).

But the judge held that CECPC is not an office recognized by the APC’s Constitution upon which anybody can be disqualified but a mere ad-hoc body put in place in the absence of the National Executive Committee known to law.

Details later…

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