Bisina Somto, PBA Journalism MenteeA Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Tuesday, ordered a rerun for all the primaries conducted by the Peoples Democratic Party ahead of the 2023 general election in the state.
Presiding Judge, Justice O.O. Oguntoyinbo gave the order while delivering judgment on a suit filed by three members of the PDP, Taiwo Olabode Idris, Kehinde Akala and Alhaji Ayinde Monsuri.
The annulled primaries include governorship, Senate, House of Representatives and the state House of Assembly seats.
The court also restricted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognizing Hon. Ladi Adebutu as the PDP governorship candidate in the state, and ordered that fresh primaries for all positions be conducted within 14 days.
The plaintiffs had dragged the party, Ladi Adebutu and INEC to court to challenge the authenticity of the delegates’ lists used for the conduct of the primaries.
PDP had on May 25 conducted its party primaries which produced Adebutu as the governorship candidate of the party.
The plaintiffs argued that the persons on delegates’ list used by the electoral panel for the primaries were not democratically elected at the ward, local government and state congresses, hence the panel “cannot unilaterally or arbitrarily impose” the list on the party for the primaries.
The plaintiffs in their originating summons, had prayed the court among others to nullify or set aside the state congress/indirect primary election, held by the 1st defendant (PDP) on 25th of May, 2022 “for the purpose of choosing the candidate which the 1st Defendant intends to nominate/sponsor at the 2023 Governorship election in Ogun State based on the list of delegates who were not democratically elected at the ward congress.”
They also sought an order directing the 2nd Defendant (INEC) “to disregard and/or refrain from giving effect to the results of the alleged 1st Defendant’s indirect primary election held on the 25th of May, 2022 based on the list of ad-hoc delegates who were not elected at the ward congresses constituted by the 1st Defendant for that purpose”.
In his reaction to the judgment, counsel to the plaintiffs, Thaddeus Idenyi, said the court nullified the election “because it was conducted using a list of adhoc delegates who were not properly elected.
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