Tobias Sylvester
A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit challenging the nomination of Ademola Adeleke as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Osun governorship election.
Adeleke Wins In Court
The plaintiff in the suit, Awoyemi Oluwatayo Lukman had dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), PDP and Adeleke before the court seeking order to void and set aside the submission of Adeleke’s name to INEC on ground of alleged unlawful action.
In the suit marked FHC /ABJ/ CS/469/22, the plaintiff asked the court to disqualify Adeleke from participating in the July 16 governorship poll on the grounds that the party had hurriedly submitted his name (Adeleke) to INEC on March 11, 2022, as against the March 14 to 18 timeframe given by the electoral commission in its guidelines.
He submitted that INEC must be bound by its official guidelines and that anything done outside the guidelines is against the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.
Awoyemi, therefore, prayed the court to declare the submission of Adeleke’s name illegal, unlawful, null and void and be set aside.
However, in his judgment, Justice Obiora Egwuatu struck out the suit on the ground that the said Awoyemi Oluwatayo Lukman lacked locus standi to have instituted the case.
The judge held also that the suit was statute barred having been fixed outside the 14 days stipulated by section 285 of the 1999 Constitution that all pre-election suits must be filed within 14 days whereas, the instant suit was filed after 28 days.
KanyiDaily recalls that Ademola Adeleke was declared the winner of the Osun governorship election on Sunday morning, July 17, 2020.
