The appeal filed by a former Governor of Ekiti State, Engineer Segun Oni, against the emergence of Dr. Kayode Fayemi as governor of the state was stalled on Tuesday following to the absence of the Independent National Electoral Commission when the matter came up for hearing at the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court thus adjourned the matter till March 5, 2013 for hearing in an application filed by Oni seeking to to set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which removed him from office.
Oni’s ground for the appeal is that the suspended President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami, who constituted and presided over the panel, wrote the judgment that ousted him despite his closeness to the National Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the party that provided Fayemi the platform for the gubernatorial contest.
Oni alleged bias in the judgment in favour of the ACN.
When the case was called on Tuesday, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mukhtar, noted that INEC had not been served with the hearing notice.
Oni’s counsel, Chief Joe Kyari-Gadzama, told the court that INEC was a nominal party but deserved to be heard in the interest of fair hearing.
Kyari-Gadzama pleaded with the court for a short adjournment.
However, Fayemi’s counsel, Olusola Baiyashea, SAN, said the Supreme Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal.
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