Court orders APC, INEC to file defence suit seeking Aiyedatiwa’s removal as candidate

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A Federal High Court, Abuja on Tuesday, ordered the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ondo Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to file their defense in a suit seeking the removal of Aiyedatiwa as APC governorship candidate for November 2024 election.

The trial Judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo ordered that the three defendants must file their respective defence within days allowed by law since the suit is time-bound.

The order of the Court followed a claim by the APC that it had written a letter to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court requesting for transfer of the case from Abuja to Ondo State.

At the proceedings on Tuesday, lead counsel to the APC, Tayo Oyetibo informed the Court that his client had forwarded a letter to the Chief Judge praying for the movement of the case from the Abuja division to Akure division and admitted however, that APC had not received any response to the letter.

In response, Justice Ekwo held that there was no letter before him and as such, cannot act on anything not before the court. Instead, he ordered that with or without the letter before him, the defendants must respond to the issues raised by the plaintiff, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim against the conduct of the primary election that produced Aiyedatiwa as APC governorship candidate.

APC in its letter by Matthew Bukkar (SAN), dated May 12 but received in Chief Judge’s Office on May 13, 2024, claimed that the primary election being challenged was conducted in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

Besides, APC said that Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa whose candidacy is being challenged is resident of Akure and submitted that Akure division of the Federal High Court is the approximate convenient place for the case to be determined.

However, counsel to the plaintiff, Chief Chris Uche (SAN) was prevented from reacting to the letter on the ground that the said letter was not before the court.

After issuing the order, Justice Ekwo fixed May 29 for hearing of the suit with a warning that all processes in respect of the suit must be filed and exchanged by parties.

Ibrahim, who is representing Ondo South in the Senate, is praying the court to cancel the nomination of Aiyedatiwa as APC candidate on the ground that the April 20 primary election that produced him was unlawful.

In the suit filed on his behalf by Chris Uche (SAN), Ibrahim, a governorship aspirant who participated in the primary election alleged that the poll was marred with a lot of irregularities.

Among others, the Senator claimed that Sections 221, 228 of the 1999 Constitution and 84 of the Electoral Act 2022 were grossly violated in the conduct of the disputed primary election by the APC.

He alleged that some delegates who could have voted for him at the primary election were not accredited to vote thereby making the primary election liable to be set aside and nullified.

Ibrahim therefore, prays the Court to bar INEC from accepting Governor Aiyedatiwa as the APC governorship candidate in the coming November 16 governorship election in Ondo State.

The Senator also sought an order of perpetual injunction, prohibiting Governor Aiyedatiwa from holding himself out or parading himself as the APC governorship candidate.

Similarly, Ibrahim wants the court to set aside the purported primary election and compel the APC to conduct a fresh one in compliance with Sections 221, 228 of the 1999 Constitution and that of 84 of the Electoral Act 2022.

The aggrieved governorship aspirant prayed the Federal High Court to delist the names of the APC and Aiyedatiwa from the political parties and candidates that would participate in the governorship election.

Plaintiff further requested that APC and Governor Aiyedatiwa be stripped of all rights except a fresh primary election is lawfully conducted for the purpose of nominating candidate for the governorship election.

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