A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit seeking the disqualification of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Osun State governor, Isiaka Adegboyega Oyetola, from the state governorship election slated for Saturday, July 16, 2022.
Justice Inyang Ekwo dismissed the suit on six grounds that the plaintiff, a chieftain of the APC, Moshood Olalekan Adeoti, failed to disclose any cause of action.
The judge held that the suit instituted by the former governorship aspirant constituted a gross abuse of court process and that the plaintiff did not exhaust internal party mechanism for dispute resolution before rushing to court.
Justice Ekwo in a judgment upheld the arguments of Olusegun Jolaawo, SAN that membership of the APC’s National Caretaker Extraordinary and Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) by governor Oyetola on which the suit was predicated was an ad-hoc body and not the real APC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party recognised by the party’s constitution.
Adeoti had sought disqualification of the incumbent governor, Gboyega Oyetola, from the gubernatorial poll alongside the party on the ground of failure to follow due process of law during the conduct of the primary election for the nomination of the gubernatorial candidate.
In the originating summons, Adeoti prayed the court to nullify Oyetola’s candidacy on the grounds that the governor contested in the February 19 primary election as a member of the APC’s National Caretaker Extraordinary and Convention Planning Committee (CECPC).
The plaintiff said the action by Oyetola contravened the provisions of Section 222 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and Article 31(iii) of the APC, October 2014 (as amended).
But the Judge in his judgment held that CECPC was not same as the as office recognised by the APC Constitution upon which anybody can be disqualified.
Specifically, Justice Ekwo said that CECPC was a mere ad-hoc body put in place in the absence of the National Executive Committee known to the law.
Besides, the Judge agreed that the issue of nomination of candidates for elective offices by political parties is an internal affairs of parties which no court can inquire into except where expressly stated by law.
Justice Ekwo wondered why Adeoti resorted to court action after fully participating in the primary election, scored some votes and lost to Oyetola, adding that the plaintiff’s action amounted to approbating and reprobating at the same time against the provisions of the law
The Judge said that from the totality of the evidence placed before the court and questions raised for determination, the plaintiff did not disclose any cause of action.
Justice Ekwo subsequently dismissed the suit on six grounds.
The plaintiff in the suit and a chieftain of the APC, Moshood Adeoti, had filed the matter through his legal team led by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chiesonu Okpoko.
Adeoti, a aspirant loyal to former governor Rauf Aregbesola, the incumbent Minister of Interior, was one of the aspirants who lost the APC governorship ticket to Governor Oyetola held on February 19, 2022.
