A Federal High Court, Abuja has nullified the nomination of Governor Isiaka Oyetola of Osun as the All Progressives Congress’s candidate for the July 16, 2022 governorship election.
Justice Emeka Nwite, in a judgment, nullified the candidacy of Oyetola and his running mate, Benedict Alabi, on Friday.
Nwite nullified their candidacy on the grounds that Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, who submitted their names to the Independent National Electoral Commission, violated the provisions of Section 183 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Section 82(3) of the Electoral Act, 2022.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Peoples Democratic Party had filed the suit against Buni, Oyetola and others.
The PDP, through its counsel, Kehinde Ogunwumiju (SAN), had on April 7, 2022 commenced the suit, challenging the nomination and sponsorship of Oyetola and his deputy as the duly nominated candidates of the APC for governorship poll in which its candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke, was declared the winner by the INEC.
Challenging the competence of the suit, Kunle Adegoke (SAN), who represented Oyetola, had contended, amongst other grounds, that the PDP did not have the locus to commence the action and that the suit was statute-barred.
But Ogunwumiju argued that the plaintiff (PDP) rightly commenced the suit under Section 285(14) (c) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).
Delivering the judgment, Nwite agreed with the submissions of the PDP counsel and declared as null and void the nomination of Oyetola and Alabi by the APC.
The court also held that Buni acted in contravention of the provision of Section 183 of the Constitution when he held dual executive positions as the Governor of Yobe State and Chairman of the National Caretaker Committee of the APC.
The court said that the decisions taken by Governor Buni, including forwarding the names of Oyetola and Alabi to INEC, amounted to a nullity in law.
NAN reports that INEC declared the candidate of the PDP, Adeleke, the winner of the July 16, 2022 Osun State governorship election.
The Returning Officer for the election and Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, announced that Adeleke got a total of 403,371 votes to beat the incumbent, Oyetola of the APC, who got 375,027 votes.