A Federal High Court, sitting in Osogbo, on Wednesday threw out the application seeking the disqualification of Senator Ademola Adeleke as the official flagbearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming July 16 governorship election in the state.
Justice Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel, in his judgment, affirmed Adeleke as the authentic candidate of the PDP.
The ruling was sequel to the application filed before the court by Prince Dotun Babayemi, seeking the judgment of court to nullify the primary election that produced Adeleke.
Recall that the PDP had held parallel primaries during its governorship primary elections on March 8.
The New Diplomat reports that the primary election which held at the Osogbo City Stadium, under the supervision of the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa, Mr. Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, as Chairman, had produced Adeleke as the flagbearer of the PDP.
The other primary election which held at the Women and Children Development Initiative Foundation (WOCDIF) Centre, Osogbo, produced Babayemi, as the parallel candidate of the main opposition party.
However, Ayo-Emmanuel, in his judgment which took over 1 hour, 30 minutes, held that the primary election conducted at the WOCDIF Centre, Osogbo, on March 8, 2022, which produced Babayemi was null and void.
The presiding judge on the grounds of Section 84 (14) of the Electoral Act, dismissed the suit filed by Babayemi.
He ruled that the provisions of the Section 84(14) clearly stated that only the aspirant(s) that participated physically at the primary conducted by the National Working Committee of the party and not the one conducted by the party’s state executives, can only be recognised.
Therefore, he upheld the governorship primary conducted by the PDP National Working Committee at the Osogbo Township Stadium that produced Adeleke.
With the ruling, Adeleke is billed to jostle with the incumbent Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC); former Deputy speaker of House of Representatives, Lasun Yusuf of the Labour Party (LP); among others for the gubernatorial seat of Osun state in the July 16 election.
