Ogun West: Court Clears Adeola, Awards N4m Cost against Plaintiffs

Court orders INEC to list Ogun LP candidates

James Sowole in Abeokuta

A Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, yesterday, struck out another suit challenging the victory of the Senator Representing the Lagos West, Senator Solomon Adeola, who had won the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as party’s candidate for Ogun West in 2023 Election.

This is just as the Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, Ogun State, yesterday, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to list the names of candidates of the Labour Party for the state and National Assembly elections in Ogun State in 2023

The case involving Adeola, FHC/AB/CS/132/2022, instituted by Johnson Akinsanya Akindele and 2 Others as plaintiffs against Senator Adeola and 3 Others as defendants, was dismissed by Justice Joyce Obehi Abdulmalik.

Abdulmalik said that the plaintiffs lacked locus standi to institute the case, adding further that the case as a pre-election matter was statute barred as it was filed outside the 14 days prescribed by the constitution for filing pre-election matter.

The judge, in dismissing the case, awarded a cost of N4 million each in favour of two defendants: the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the APC against the plaintiffs.

Adeola, popularly called Yayi, defeated the incumbent senator of the district, Senator Tolu Odebiyi by a total vote of 294 against 0 in the primary for the seat.

The plaintiffs averred in the suit that the APC ought not to clear Adeola for the primary of the party for Ogun West since he is still a serving senator representing Lagos West in the National Assembly.

They, therefore, sought an order that the person that came second in the primary for Ogun West, should replace Adeola as the APC candidate for the constituency for the 2023 election.

For Senator Adeola and his numerous supporters, this is the second case he is winning after his victory at the party primary.

Meanwhile, the Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, Ogun State, yesterday, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to list the names of candidates of the Labour Party for the state and National Assembly elections in Ogun State in 2023.

The order was given by Justice Adetayo Aluko in a judgment he delivered on a suit filed by 26 House of Assembly, nine House of Representatives and three senatorial candidates that emerged from the primaries conducted by the party in Ogun State.

The INEC had in the list of candidates listed for various elective positions in Ogun State for the 2023 Election, omitted names of LP candidates over their alleged failure to meet the commission’s guideline. The commission said from the record available, LP did not submit names of candidates for the elections.

The commission, had in its guidelines, gave political parties up till July 15 for the submission of the list of their candidates for the presidential and National Assembly elections and Aug. 12 for candidates for governorship and state’s House of Assemblies’ polls.

Not satisfied with the INEC’s action, the candidates approached the Federal High Court insisting that their names must be listed in line with the Electoral Act, 2022 as amended.

In the matter that was filed by their Counsel, Mr. Monday Mawah, the applicants prayed the court to make an order directing INEC to allow the party to list all the names of all applicants for 2023 state and National Assembly elections.

They urged the court to declare that by virtue of Section 31 of the Electoral Act, 2022, INEC had no power to reject the name of its candidate.

Delivering his judgment, Justice Aluko held that the Electoral Act, 2022, is superior to INEC guidelines on elections.

He said that Section 31 of the Electoral Act, 2022, allowed parties to still submit names of candidates that emerge from substitution primaries not later than 90 days before the election.

He said that the electoral umpire, by its own manuals, cannot limit the time provided for by the Electoral Act.

Sequel to the judgment, LP’s candidates and their supporters stormed the Press Centre of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Iwe Iroyin ,in Abeokuta and from where they embarked on road show on streets in the state capital.