‘Judiciary must expedite action on Jegede’s case’

A political group, Ondo Rebirth Group (ORG), on Sunday, hailed the decision of the Court of Appeal granting the factional candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the governorship election, Eyitayo Jegede, leave to appeal the judgment that shut him out of the election.

This was contained in a statement by the group and signed by its coordinator, Olusola Akinbinu, who commended the judiciary over its commitment and sincerity in the handling of the issue.

It noted that the ruling saved the state from creeping into a state of chaos and anarchy, which was almost occasioned by a clear travesty of justice in the wanton change of PDP candidate in Ondo State.

It commended the people of the state for the maturity displayed for not taking laws into their hands over the substitution of Jegede’s name as the candidate of the party saying “We also use this opportunity to congratulate and appreciate the people of Ondo State for their consciousness, maturity, patience and resilience in the face of unnecessary crass provocation.

The group also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure the free and fair of the election, saying “It is our patriotic wish, to advise that INEC should, as a matter of Justice, fair-play and equity shift the election date for nothing less than 10days, for parties involved in the election to be given a level playing ground.

“We assert that there is nothing cast in iron about November 26 as yet fixed date for the election, since the Electoral Act 2010 (with 2011 Amendments) & Allied matters Section 25(8) states that “An election to the office of the Governor of a state shall be held on a date not earlier than 150 days and not later than 30days before the expiration of term of office of the last holder of that office. So, any date till the 25th of January, 2017 is acceptable by the Law.”

“Considering also the sensitivity of the candidacy issue of a major political parties to the election, and the litigation processes, and that nothing will be lost, if INEC allows the expeditious litigations at the Appeal Court to finalize with the short required time,” it said.