By Kolawole Ojebisi
Justice Toyin Bolaji Adegoke of the Federal High Court in Akure, Ondo State, has dismissed the suit challenging the qualifications of Hon Lucky Aiyedatiwa and his deputy, Olayide Adelami, both candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates for the November 16 governorship election in the state.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Hon. Agboola Ajayi, had filed a suit challenging the qualification of the APC’s candidate for the poll.
But while delivering judgement on Monday, the presiding judge declared that the suit lacked locus standi.
She, also said that the case filed by Ajayi and his party, the PDP, was statute barred and that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear it, having filed through originating summons instead of a Writ of Summons.
According to her, the suit was filed outside the 14 days required by the Electoral Act.
Recall that Ajayi’s counsel, M Ndoka, SAN, had challenged the eligibility of Adelami to contest as the Deputy governorship candidate on the platform of APC.
Ndoka, therefore, sought the disqualification of APC from the ballot.
The PDP candidate, in his originating summons, said the first defendant, the deputy governorship candidate, Adelami, is known by multiple conflicting and irreconcilable names of Adelami Owolabi Jackson and Olaide Owolabi Adelami.
Ajayi said that with the conflicting names, the court should disqualify him and the governorship candidate.
Ajayi claimed the APC has no qualified candidates for the November 16 governorship election.
He therefore sought a ” Declaration that the APC has no validly nominated Governorship and Deputy Governorship candidate for the 2024 election.”
Ajayi asked for an order disqualifying the defendants from participating in the election and order and restraining INEC from publishing their names or allowing them to participate in the election.
But Adelami’s counsel, Dr Remi Olatubora, SAN, argued that the West African Examination Council (WAEC) result has the name Adelami Owolabi Jackson in 1974 and that a degree certificate from Ambrose Alli University issued in 1982 has the name Adelami Olaide Owolabi.
Olatubora said the grievance of the plaintiffs is not about discrepancies in the name but the order or arrangements of the names.
His position was supported by Mr. Tayo Oyetibo, SAN, who represented governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the second defendant, Mr Ebun Adegboruwa, SAN, who represented the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Charles Edosan SAN who represented the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to Olatubora, the plaintiffs have no right to file the suit following section 29(5) of the Electoral Act 2022 because they are not members of All Progressives Congress and did not participate in the primaries that the governorship primary that produced Adelami and Aiyedatiwa as candidates
He submitted that “The plaintiffs lack the locus standi to file the suit or seek the reliefs set out in the originating summons.
“That the suit as a matter of law does not qualify as a pre-election matter, and this court lacks jurisdiction.”
Speaking further on the judgement, Justice Adegoke said the issue involving certificate forgery and perjury is criminal in nature, which required the calling of evidence from the authorities that issued the certificates in question.
According to her section 29 of the Electoral Act made provision for who can challenge the candidate of political parties.
The Judge, said “the fact that PDP and Ajayi are not aspirants in the APC primary that produced Aiyedatiwa and Adelami as candidates rubbed them off any legal right to challenge their qualifications.
Adegoke, who declared that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the case, dismissed it and therefore resolved all issues in favour of the defendants.
