Suit to stop Fayose’s governorship ambition adjourned to June 30

Attempt by a group to stop former Governor Ayo Fayose from contesting Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti State failed on Monday as an Ado-Ekiti High Court adjourned the case till June 30 for hearing.
A socio-cultural group, E-Eleven, had sued the former governor, saying he is not eligible to contest the election.
Other prayers sought by the claimants were that it wants the court to determine whether
Fayose was qualified to contest by virtue of his impeachment in 2006 and whether he was right to have allegedly given certain false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission about his state of integrity.
INEC and the Peoples Democratic party were joined as defendants in the suit.
The claimant’s lead counsel, Norrison Quakers (SAN), had pleaded for accelerated hearing of the case in view of the fact that the election, in which the eligibility of the defendant was in question, would be coming up on Saturday.
Quakers said the court was empowered under the Electoral Act to proceed with the case so that his clients would be deemed to have got justice.
Norrison submitted that the case was ripe for accelerated hearing because the defendants had been served the notice since Monday after the court ruled that Fayose be served through substituted means.
In a counter argument, counsel to the respondent, Ahmed Raji (SAN), said the case before the court was not ripe enough for hearing since there was no written application filed to him.
Raji asked the court to give him seven days to respond to the filed affidavit, which would be given to him by the claimant.
Raji said the claimant cannot argue the case orally because there was no written application to that effect.
He, therefore, urged the court not to treat the matter as an urgent one and should not rush the proceeding as demanded by the claimant.
He said the case could still continue even if his client eventually wins the Saturday’s election.
The Presiding Judge, Justice Olusegun Ogunyemi, in his ruling said the rule of law must be obeyed in the case.
Ogunyemi cited Section 39 of the constitution on issue concerning the issue of oral or written affidavit, saying there must be a written affidavit filed by the claimant and given to the respondent.
The judge consequently adjourned the case till June 30 for hearing.