Kehinde Fajobi
The Federal High Court in Akure has dismissed a suit seeking to disqualify Olayide Adelami as the deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 16 Ondo governorship election.
Delivering judgment on Monday, Justice Toyin Bolaji Adegoke ruled that the plaintiff, Ajayi, lacked the legal standing to file the case.
The court held that the suit was filed outside the 14-day period stipulated by the Electoral Act, rendering it statute-barred.
Justice Adegoke further ruled that the case, filed through originating summons instead of a writ of summons, was procedurally flawed.
Ajayi’s suit alleged that Adelami used conflicting names, including “Adelami Owolabi Jackson” and “Olaide Owolabi Adelami,” and claimed the APC had no qualified candidates for the election.
However, Adelami’s counsel, Dr Remi Olatubora, countered that the discrepancies in names were only variations in arrangement.
He cited documents such as a 1974 WAEC certificate bearing “Adelami Owolabi Jackson” and a 1982 degree certificate from Ambrose Alli University bearing “Adelami Olaide Owolabi” to support his argument.
Olatubora further argued that the plaintiffs, being non-members of the APC and not participants in the party’s primaries, had no right under Section 29(5) of the Electoral Act 2022 to challenge Adelami’s qualifications.
Justice Adegoke agreed, stating, “The PDP and Ajayi have no legal right to question the qualifications of Adelami, as they were not aspirants in the APC primaries that produced Aiyedatiwa and Adelami as candidates.”
The court subsequently resolved all issues in favour of the defendants and dismissed the case.
Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of the APC had won the November 16 election by a significant margin.