Court Orders APC, Aiyedatiwa to Defend Suit against Ondo Guber Primary 

Alex Enumah in Abuja 

Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja has ordered the All Progressives Congress (APC) to file its defence in a suit seeking the nullification of the April 20 primary election that produced incumbent Governor, Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, as its candidate in the forthcoming governorship election in Ondo State.

Besides the APC, Aiyedatiwa and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were also to respond to the suit filed by a governorship aspirant, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim.

The judge’s order was sequel to the claim by the APC that it had written a letter to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court requesting a transfer of the case from Abuja to Ondo State.

The court had on May 8, ordered the service of the suit on the governor through substituted means by placing same at the headquarters of the APC in Abuja.

The court further fixed May 14 for hearing since, the APC and INEC who are first and third respondents have already been served with the court documents.

However, when the matter came up on Tuesday, the plaintiff’s lawyer, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), informed the court that while the first and third respondents have served him with their memorandum of appearance, the trio are yet to serve him with their defence.

Responding, APC’s lawyer, Chief Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), who observed that he was still within time to respond, informed the court of a letter to the Chief Judge (CJ) of the Federal High Court seeking the transfer of the case to the Akure division of the Federal High Court, since the primary election been contested was held in Akure, Ondo State.

Bode Olanipekun (SAN) and Chief Charles Edosanwan (SAN), who represented Aiyedatiwa and INEC respectively, aligned themselves with the submissions of Oyetibo.

In a short ruling, Justice Ekwo, who demonstrated willingness to determine the matter expeditiously, ordered the respondents to file their responses within the time stipulated by law, while awaiting the decision of the CJ.

While stating that the said letter for transfer was not yet before the court, he subsequently fixed May 29 for hearing.

Senator Ibrahim is seeking the sack of Aiyedatiwa as APC’s gubernatorial candidate on the grounds that the primary election that produced him was done in substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022, as well as the APC’s constitution and guidelines for selecting candidates for elective positions.

In the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/ CS/588/24, the plaintiff described the APC’s primary election that held on April 20, as a sham, adding that the primary was deliberately skewed to favour the incumbent governor.

The Chairman of the APC Primary Election Committee and Governor of Kogi State, Usman Ododo had in the early hours of Monday, April 22, announced Aiyedatiwa as the winner of the primary poll, having scored majority of the votes cast in 203 electoral wards in all the 18 local governments in Ondo State.

According to the committee chairman, the governor won in 16 of the 18 local government areas, scoring 48,569 votes to defeat his closest rival, Mayowa Akinfolarin, who polled 15,343 votes.

A former Legal Adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and now a chieftain of the APC, Chief Olusola Oke (SAN), scored 14,865 votes to come third, while the plaintiff secured 9, 456 to come fourth.

Dissatisfied with the result, the plaintiff urged the court to void the entire exercise and order the APC to conduct a fresh primary on the grounds that the party apart from failing to comply with the Electoral Law, 2022, breached its own constitution and guidelines for the conduct of election.

According to him, the party failed to collate results from the 203 wards but went ahead to announce Aiyedatiwa as winner, adding that while accreditation did not take place in many wards, there was also issues of non provision of men and material, as well as over voting in most areas where election held.

In an affidavit deposed to in support of the suit, Senator Ibrahim submitted: “That the results of the Governorship Primary Election Committee used in declaring the winner were not product of collation of results by the Local Government Electoral Committee at the designated collation centres. 

“That being in a hurry to generate and allocate scores to aspirants according to their preference, 1st defendant’s agents allocated total number of votes higher than total number of accredited members in a number of ward, which incident of over-voting spreads across the 18 local governments and occurred in more than 100 wards, which include but not limited to Wards 3,4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10 of Akure South; Wards 3, S, 7, 8, 10 of Owo Local Government; Wards 1, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10 Ose Local Government; Wards 1,2,5,7, 11, 14, 15 Akoko South West; Wards 3,4,5,6,8,10 Ondo West, Wards 1 -10 Akoko North West. 

“That by the guidelines, these incidents of over voting in the above wards vitiate the results generated and declared in those wards by the 1st defendant.”

Besides, the senator argued that the APC acted in deliberate defiance and disobedience of a valid order of a competent court of law by allowing the alleged suspended National Chairman of the APC to inaugurate the Ondo State Governorship Primary Election Committee.