Court throws out suit seeking disqualification of APC’s Aiyedatiwa, running mate

The Federal High Court in Akure, on Monday, threw out a suit seeking the disqualification of Olayide Adelami, the deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last governorship election in Ondo State.

The suit was filed by the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 16 November Ondo State governorship election, Agboola Ajayi, accusing Mr Adelami of forgery.

Mr Ajayi also told the court that Mr Adelami, who is also the deputy governor, submitted documents with inconsistency in the names to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the November election, disqualifying him as a candidate in the election.

The PDP candidate, through his lawyer, M. Ndoka, challenged the eligibility of Mr Adelami to contest as the deputy governor on the platform of APC, urging the court to disqualify him.

Mr Ndoka said the first defendant, (Adelami) is known by multiple conflicting and irreconcilable names such Adelami Owolabi Jackson and Olaide Owolabi Adelami.

He said based on the conflicting names of the deputy governor-elect, Mr Ajayi, who was the first runner-up in the election, asked the court to disqualify Mr Adelami and the governorship candidate.

In his prayers, the PDP’s candidate said, “That the first defendant, (Adelami) is constitutionally disqualified from contesting the election as Deputy Governorship candidate of APC.”

He prayed for “a declaration that the APC has no validly nominated Governorship and Deputy Governorship candidate for the 2024 election.”

He further asked for an order disqualifying the defendants from participating in the election and an order restraining INEC from publishing their names or allowing them to participate in the election.

But Mr Adelami’s lawyer, Remi Olatubora, said that the West African Examination Council (WAEC) result has the name Adelami Owolabi Jackson in 1974 and that a degree certificate from Ambrose Alli University issued in 1982 has the name Adelami Olaide Owolabi.

He said the grievance of the plaintiffs is not about discrepancies in the name but the order or arrangements of the names.

Mr Olatubora said the plaintiffs had no right to file the suit following Section 29(5) of the Electoral Act 2022 because they are not members of the APC and did not participate in the primary that produced Messrs Adelami and Aiyedatiwa as candidates.

Mr Olatubora argued, “The plaintiffs lack the locus standi to file the suit or seek the reliefs set out in the originating summons. That the suit as a matter of law does not qualify as a pre-election matter, and this court lacks jurisdiction.”

Delivering judgement on Monday, the judge, Toyin Adegoke, dismissed all the allegations against the APC candidates.

Mr Adegoke agreed with the lawyer to the defendants that the PDP candidate who challenged the qualification of the APC’s candidates, lacked locus standi to file the suit.

The judge also held that the case filed by Mr Ajayi and the PDP was statute barred, having filed it outside the 14 days required by the Electoral Act.

The court further held that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the suit, having filed it through originating summons instead of a writ of summons.

READ ALSO: Nigerian senators met in London to perfect defection plan – Lawmaker

The judge said the issues of certificate forgery and perjury are criminal, and as such, required the calling of evidence from the authorities that issued the certificates in question.

The court further held that Section 29 of the Electoral Act made provision for who can challenge the candidate of political parties. She said the fact that PDP and Mr Ajayi were not aspirants in the APC primary that produced Mr Aiyedatiwa as a governorship candidate and the subsequent choice of Mr Adelami as the running mate, had robbed them of any legal right to challenge their qualifications.

The court, consequently, resolved all issues in favour of the defendants, saying the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the case and dismissed it accordingly.