Eligibility Suit: Court Determines Adeoti/Oyetola’s Fate Tomorrow

 

The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed tomorrow, July 14, to deliver judgment in a suit seeking the disqualification of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of the State of Osun, as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the July 16 governorship election.

Justice Inyang Ekwo fixed the date, after counsel for the parties adopted their processes and presented their arguments in the matter.

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 was one of the aspirants who lost the APC governorship ticket to Governor Oyetola in the party’s primary held on February 19.

In the originating summons, he prayed the court to nullify Oyetola’s candidacy on the grounds that the governor contested in the poll as a member of the party’s Caretaker Extraordinary and Convention Planning Committee (CECPC).

The plaintiff said the act 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).

According to him, the second defendant (Oyetola) ought to have resigned his membership of the APC’s CECPC and leave office as an officer of APC at least 30 days prior to the date of the Osun State primary election, to qualify for participation in the said party primary election.

Governor Oyetola is seeking to extend his tenure in office by another four years, having won the last election held in 2018.

The court will deliver judgement on the suit seeking to disqualify him two days to the date set by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct the election.