The Friday ruling of a Federal High Court nullifying the
candidature of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and his Deputy, Benedict Alabi as
the gubernatorial and Deputy gubernatorial candidate of the Osun All
Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun election has been described as dead on
arrival.
Counsel to the Osun State Governor, Ibrahim Lawal, who made
this known while responding to questions on a radio programme in Osogbo on
Monday, also described the judgment as a charade.
Ibrahim, who also noted that a final verdict had been
pronounced by the Supreme Court in a similar case in 2021, added that the case
filed by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was a nullity,
distraction and deliberate plot to scuttle the substantive case of the
petitioners, Governor Oyetola and the APC before the Osun Election Petition
Tribunal.
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had on Friday nullified the nomination of the Osun Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola and that of his Deputy, Benedict Alabi for the July 16, Osun gubernatorial.
The Presiding Judge, Justice Emeka Nwite declared as null
and void, the nomination of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and Benedict Alabi by
the APC.
The decision of the court was predicated on the ground that
Governor Mai Mala Buni who submitted their names to INEC 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 court also held that Governor Buni holding dual
executive positions as the Governor of Yobe State and the Chairman of the National
Caretaker Committee of the APC acted in contravention of the provision of
Section 183 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Lawal, while expressing confidence in the ability of the
legal team of Governor Oyetola to overturn the judgment of the Federal High
Court, explained that the team is 100 percent convinced that the decision of
the Federal High Court against Oyetola ans his deputy cannot see the light of
the day.
He argued that the decision and the consequence of
nominating a candidate rests in the congress of the party at the State level as
affirmed by the Supreme Court in the case of Eyitayo Jegede and the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 2021.
“The action which the Federal High Court pronounced was
statue barred as the decision the court was talking about had happened in March
as against April when the matter was brought before it.
“The judgment was clear as to the issue of sponsorship and
nomination of candidates and one cannot substitute any other ground except as
stated in Section 177 of the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he
said.
Arguing that the petitioners (PDP) did not file their
process until April, clearly 14 days after the time they were supposed to file
their matter, Lawal held that the Court shouldn’t have entertained it in the
first place.
“These are the issues we brought to court but for reasons
best known to the judge, with due respect to the judge of the Federal High
Court, they ruled otherwise.
“The reason we have layers of the Court was that when you
are dissatisfied with a judgment of Lower Court, you go to another Court, and
Electoral Act is very clear, when a matter is at the Court, nothing can be done
on it until it gets to a final stage, the status quo remains.
“By the grace of God, we are filing a notice of appeal
tomorrow challenging the ruling because the decision taken by the Federal High
Court, in the eye of the law is perverse and against the established principle
of law that had been laid down by the Supreme Court.
“We are not deterred and it has nothing to do with the issue
that is ongoing at the tribunal. What we call judicial precedents are the facts
that the sanctity of the laws had settled some cases by higher courts and the
lower court cannot go in contrary. When there are established decisions of the
superior court, no lower court can go in contrary, any court that does so has
committed what we call judicial rascality.
“So, I am very sure that this matter will be set aside by
the Court of Appeal.”
Lawal reiterated that the impact of the judgment on the case
cannot in anyway prevent the Osun Election Petition Tribunal from going ahead.
Recall also that the Osun Election Petition Tribunal on
Tuesday, September 26, 2022 adjourned sitting to Tuesday, October 4.
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