Olugbenga Edema, the governorship candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the 16 November polls in Ondo State, has sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s nomination as the All Progressives Congress, (APC) candidate.
Mr Edema asked the High Court in Akure to declare null and void the primary election that produced Mr Aiyedatiwa as the ticket bearer for the APC.
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According to Mr Edema and his counsels, the implication of the suit is that Mr Aiyedatiwa should not have appeared on the ballot “if INEC had done the right thing,” and that such rendered futile his election on 16 November.
Edema’s argument
Mr Edema is relying on a report by INEC which recorded that election did not hold in most wards during the 20 April primaries and “so no valid primaries were conducted.”
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On that account, Jimoh Ibrahim, the senator representing Ondo South in the Senate went to court to challenge the outcome of the primary election, but was later pressured to withdraw his suit.
Mr Edema was a member of the APC and participated in the 20 April primaries of the ruling party, but decamped to NNPP when he failed to win the ticket.
He had protested the outcome of the election, saying no valid election was held across the wards in the state as required by law.
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Mr Edema’s petition has INEC as the defendant, arguing that the electoral body ought to have disqualified the APC candidate ab initio having failed to satisfy the provisions of the law in the conduct of the primaries.
He is also drawing inference from INEC’s removal of NRM from the ballot shortly before the election on the grounds that the party did not hold a valid primary election.
Although NRM was later included after it challenged the action of INEC in court, Mr Edema and his lawyers argued that INEC should have done the same with the APC given its own report that the APC did not hold a valid primary election on 20 April.
He said: “If you could remove the name of NRM on the grounds that it did not conduct a valid primary, what did INEC do when it came to the case of the APC, when it wrote in its report that APC did not conduct a valid primary in a minimum of 147 wards out of the 203 wards in the state?”
“So, this case is not against APC, it is not against Aiyedatiwa nor Adelami, it is against INEC which failed, neglected or refused to exercise statutory duty as enshrined in Section 84(13) of the Electoral Act 2020 and Section 15 of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution as amended.”
Hearing on the suit is expected to commence on Wednesday, 11 December.
PDP candidate’s petition
Also the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 16 November governorship election in Ondo State, Agboola Ajayi, said he has filed a petition at the Ondo State Election Petition Tribunal against the victory of Mr Aiyedatiwa.
He filed the petition on Monday, 9 December, 24 days after the governorship poll.
INEC declared Mr Aiyedatiwa of the APC winner of the election, having polled a total of 366,781 votes to defeat his closest rival, Mr Ajayi, who scored a total vote of 117,845.
Mr Ajayi told journalists that his legal team had filed the petition at the election tribunal with the hope of getting justice from the court.
Mr Ajayi said: “We want to address certain misconceptions and allegations made against the electorate. There were accusations that our people sold their votes or were compromised. Let it be clear that the will of the people was not for sale.
ALSO READ: Ondo 2024: Court throws out suit seeking disqualification of APC’s Aiyedatiwa, running mate
“The sadness and disappointment witnessed after the election reflect their discontent with the outcome, which, we believe, was a miscarriage of democracy orchestrated by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
“Despite our previous warnings and even legal action to ensure neutrality within INEC, the institution, unfortunately, failed to act impartially. The election results, as declared, do not reflect the aspirations of the people of Ondo State.”
APC reacts
Meanwhile, APC has denounced the litigations, saying the victory was well earned and the election free and credible, while acknowledging the rights of the petitioners to seek legal redress.
“APC stands firmly behind the results declared by INEC. We believe that the tribunal’s verdict will uphold the integrity of the election and reinforce the democratic principles that our party advocates,” Publicity Director, Steve Otaloro, said.
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