House of Rep member sues APC, INEC, co-aspirant over party ticket in Ogun

The lawmaker representing Ado/Odo Ota Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Hon Jimoh Ojugbele, has sued the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the party’s ticket to contest in the 2023 general election.

Ojugbele who also sued his co-aspirant and a former Commissioner for Forestry in Ogun State, Tunji Akinosi, approached the Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital to determine who the party’s flagbearer for the election is.

In a motion ex-parte filed before the court, Ojugbele is seeking the order of the court to restrain the APC and its agents from submitting the name of Akinosi as the party’s candidate in the Federal Constituency pending the hearing and final determination of his motion on notice.

The lawmaker is also seeking an interim order of the court restraining INEC and its agents from receiving Akinosi’s name as the candidate of the APC in Ado-Odo Ota Federal Constituency, pending the determination of the substantive suit.

He also prayed the court for an interim injunction to abridge the time within which each defendant is to file responses to the originating process from 30 days to 7 days.

The suit marked FHC/AB/CS/94/22 was filed on June 15, 2022.

In his affidavit in support of the motion deposed to by one Yomi Olojeloju, Ojugbele argued that a primary election was conducted on the 27th of May, 2022, in accordance with the electoral timetable and guidelines by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC.

He said further that the primaries were conducted in the presence of the INEC officials and other agents of the parties.

According to him, although there was an attempt to disrupt the election by some disgruntled elements and street urchins allegedly sponsored by other aspirants, the election was concluded and a winner was announced.

He argued further that the assigned returning officer, Tunji Ibitokun declared him the winner of the said election, having scored 41 out of the 43 accredited delegates, adding that Akinosi came a distant second with only two votes.

“The score as declared by the returning officer was inputted unto the result sheet and same was duly signed by the returning officer, a copy of which was given to aspirants present at the centre and that signified the end of the exercise,” he said.

The lawmaker said that a rerun election was later conducted 48 hours after he had been declared winner, maintaining that the rerun through a nullity, was also conducted by an unauthorised person without the presence of the NWC representative, INEC and other agents.

He added that: “We most humbly submit that our client was not heard neither was he given an opportunity to defend the election of 27th of May, 2022 before the purported re-run was birthed by interlopers who are ordinarily not saddled with the responsibility to do so.

“We most respectively submit that the election of 29th of May, 2022 which was not monitored by officers of the INEC is a clear violation of the extant and same amounts to a Nullity.

“No aspirant had challenged the outcome of the election conducted on the 27th May 2022 and therefore there was no basis to conduct a fresh election, a re-run election or Amy other election in any guise.”

It will be recalled that the first election on the 27th was disrupted by armed thugs who invaded the venue of the election, Alamuwa Grammar School, Ado, and chased away delegates and party faithful.

The same incident recurred on the 29th at the same venue despite the heavy presence of security operatives including officers of the Nigerian Army, Nigeria Police, Amotekun, etc.