Court rejects Akeredolu’s application, insists on hearing suit challenging his election

JUSTICE Nnamdi Dimgba of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Friday, rejected the application by the Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu seeking the striking out of the suit by Olusegun Abraham, challenging his (Akeredolu’s) emergence as candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last governorship election in the State.

The court also rejected Akeredolu’s arguments that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the suit that the suit relates to issues that are internal to the party: that the suit was inchoate, among others.

Justice Dimgba, in a ruling on delivered yesterday, however, agreed with Akeredolu that the suit was wrongly commenced, but refused to strike it out, as requested by the governor.

Instead, the judge converted the suit, originally commenced by way of Originating Summons, to be heard under the Writ of Summons rules, on the grounds that facts in the case were contentions and would required parties to file pleadings.

Justice Dimgba, whose ruling was on two notices of objection filed by Akeredolu, APC and the party’s National Chairman, gave parties up to November 30, 2018, to file and exchange all pleadings.

The judge then adjourned to December 6 and 7, 2018 for hearing.

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Abraham, in his suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/788/2016 filed through his lawyer, Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), seeks the nullification of the APC’s September 3, 2016 governorship primary election, which Akeredolu emerged as the party’s candidate, on the grounds that it was allegedly manipulated.

But Akeredolu, through his lawyer, Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN), and the APC, through Mr Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), had filed separate notices of preliminary objection in which they sought an order dismissing the suit on the basis that the suit was incompetent and that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain it.