The battle for Oyo State governorship ticket for the ruling party seems not to be over as more developments are taking place.
The party had some issues in the run up to the 2019 general election as the primary election of the party threw up some other issues.
This affected a serving Minister in President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, who was hoping to run for governorship post in the state on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
Shittu had taken legal action to seek redress on the issue.
The Federal High Court, Ibadan, on Wednesday, reserved until Thursday the judgment in the case between Shittu and APC over the party’s primary election, the Punch reports.
The minister, a member of the APC, had sued the party, seeking redress for allegedly being denied participation in the governorship primary election in Oyo State. He claimed that APC’s national leadership omitted his name in the list of its governorship aspirants for the primaries in Oyo State because he did not participate in the National Youth Service Corps scheme.
After filing of written addresses by the plaintiff and the defendants, the Judge, Justice P.I. Ajoku, fixed Thursday afternoon for judgment on the reliefs sought by the minister.
Counsel to the plaintiff, Mr Abdulhakeem Mustafa (SAN), had, among other things, urged the court to determine whether the ground for disqualifying his client was lawful or a contravention of the constitution.
Mustafa argued that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria required anyone seeking to be a state governor to possess a maximum of Senior Secondary School Certificate and not necessarily an NYSC certificate. He tendered a 38-paragraph affidavit and 13 exhibits before the court to support his claims.
In his opposition to the plaintiff’s prayer, Mr Adebayo Ojo, the defence counsel, said that the matter was already a dead issue, and therefore, academic. “My lord, the plaintiff is merely flogging a dead horse because the matter is of no benefit to him or the party, APC. It has become academic; the sister case he filed in Federal High Court, Abuja, has also been struck out,” Ojo stated.
The matter is yet to be decided. More developments on the matter will emerge when the court makes a decision on it.
In another another development, the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Anambra State has urged the state Election Petitions Tribunal, sitting in Awka to nullify the election of Mr Chukwuka Ezenwune of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as winner of Idemili South constituency.
Ezenwune was declared winner of the March 9 State Assembly election for Idemili South constituency by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, NAN reports.
But Mr Bona Orakwe, of the APC in his petition, marked EPT/AN/SHA/35/2019, contended that the APGA candidate did not score the highest number of lawful votes.
Joined as respondents are APGA, INEC, Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) and Returning Officer for the local government area.
The petitioner contended that the APGA candidate did not score lawful majority votes cast in the election and, therefore, should not have been returned as winner.
Ezenwune scored 10, 710 votes, ahead of the second-placed, Mr Frank Okigbo of the People Democratic Party who scored 4,071, while Orakwe garnered 3,210 votes to come third in the contest.
Orakwe said the election was marred with irregularities and substantial non-compliance to the Electoral Act, which affected the result declared by INEC. He contended that he scored the highest number of lawful votes cast and should be declared the winner or in the alternative nullify the election held on March 9 and order for a fresh poll.
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