JUSTICE Olukayode Adeniyi of the High Court of the a federal Capital Territory (FCT), sitting in Apo, Abuja, will next week determine whether or not the gubernatorial candidate All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Ogun State gubernatorial election, Dapo Abiodun, is qualified to contest the March 9 election in the state or not.
The judge yesterday reserved judgment till next week in a suit challenging Abiodun’s candidature in the election after listening to the preliminary objections of counsel for APC and Abiodun, Damian Dodo SAN and Kehinde Ogunwumiji, SAN.
The suit filed by an APC member in the state, Barrister Abdulrrafiu Baruwa, is asking the court to disqualify Abiodun from contesting the gubernatorial election in Ogun State, having allegedly given false information regarding his academic qualification in the form he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
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According to the claimant, Abiodun only declared his West African School Certificate (1978) in the Form CF001 submitted to INEC on October 23, 2018.
Baruwa alleged that when Abiodun contested as APC senatorial candidate for Ogun East in 2015, he (Abiodun) claimed to have attended the University of Ife, from where he claimed to have graduated in 1986 and Kennesaw State University, Atlanta, Georgia, US (1989) in his INEC Form CF001.
The claimant, however, prayed the court to, upon disqualifying Abiodun, declare Jimi Lawal, the aspirant with the second highest votes in the APC primary election as the party’s gubernatorial candidate for the election.
Arguing their separate preliminary objection on the court’s jurisdiction to entertain the matter yesterday, both Dodo and Ogunwumiji urged the court to dismiss the suit.
According to Dodo, both the Supreme Court and the Appeal Court had settled that in matters of this nature that pertains to Ogun State, the FCT High Court lacked jurisdiction.
On his part, Ogunwumiji submitted that the suit was statue-barred, in that it was filed outside the 14 days prescribed for instituting pre-election matters.
On the substantive suit, Ogunwumiji argued that the Supreme Court has held that where the supposed “falsehood” being challenged does not impugn on the qualification required as stated by the Constitution, using it as a basis to seek disqualification of the candidate is totally irrelevant.
According to the senior advocate, “As long as failure to do NYSC or attach University certificate are not grounds for disqualification in the Constitution, the suit of the claimant is lacking in merit.”
However, while responding to the respondents’ objection to the court’s jurisdiction, counsel for the claimant, Oluwole Aladedoye said the Electoral Act had given concurrent jurisdiction to the FCT High Court as the Federal High Court.
On the issue of the suit being filed out of time, Aladedoye stated that the suit did not fall under the category of pre-election matters as defined by the Fourth Alteration of the Constitution.
In view of this, he argued that the case could not be said to be bound by the 14 days time frame.
After listening to parties’ arguments, Justice Adeniyi adjourned ruling/judgment in the matter sine die (indefinitely).
He told parties that the date for the ruling/judgement would be communicated to them, adding, however, such date would not be later than March 8?
Gubernatorial, House of Assembly and FCT Area Council elections are scheduled to hold next Saturday, March 9 across the country.
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