The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, on Wednesday, disqualified Olusola Ebiseni as the Labour Party candidate for the upcoming Ondo State governorship election.
The election is scheduled for Saturday, 16 November.
A three-member panel of justices, in a unanimous decision with a lead judgement by Justice Hamma Barka delivered by Justice Adebukola Banjoko, held that “the appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/1172/2024 brought by the Labour Party against Chief Olusola Ebiseni and two others is allowed.”
Justice Banjoko directed that a Certified True Copy of the judgement would be made available to the parties in the appeal as soon as possible to enable the review of the judgement.
Justice Abba Mohammed agreed with the decision of his fellow justices while contributing to the judgement.
The judgement nullified the decision of the lower court headed by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja which had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to accept and recognise Ebiseni and Ezekiel Awude as the party’s governorship and deputy governorship candidates for the election.
Justice Nwite had affirmed that the second primary election held by the Labour Party, which produced Ebiseni and Awude as the governorship and deputy governorship candidates, was valid and should be upheld by INEC.
In his judgement on the suit brought by Ebiseni and Awude, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1105/2024, Justice Nwite noted evidence that Ebiseni had paid the sum of N20m for the nomination form and was duly issued a form leading to the conduct of the second primary election.
He also observed that there was evidence the Labour Party had directed Ebiseni to pay the sum of N5 million to one Festus Olorunfemi as compensation for his withdrawal from the governorship race.
Justice Nwite thus ordered INEC to accept the nominations of Ebiseni and Awude and to publish their names as the Labour Party’s lawful candidates for the Ondo State governorship election scheduled for 16 November until the latest judgement by the appellate court.