Barely months to the October 10, 2020 governorship election in Ondo state, candidate of the All Progressives Congress [APC] and incumbent governor of the state, Rotimi Akeredolu is facing serious obstacles from within the party in his ambition to be re-elected.
One of the contestants of the party’s governorship primary held on July 20, Nathaniel Adojutelegan, has dragged the governor before a Federal High Court in Abuja, asking the court to void the outcome of the party’s governorship primary.
Adojutelegan, in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/886/2020, also urged the court to order the APC to conduct a fresh primary election and bar Oluwarotimi Akeredolu from participating in the fresh one to be ordered by the court.
The plaintiff, in the suit, with the APC, Akeredolu and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as defendants, argued that the primary was held in violation of the Electoral Act, APC’s constitution, the party’s Electoral Guidelines, among other provisions.
He stated that the “primary was marred by grave and substantial non-compliance with the spirit and purpose of the 1stefendant’s Constitution, Electoral Guidelines and the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) and these substantially affected the outcome of the primary election.”
The plaintiff added that “the purported nomination of the 2nd defendant (Akeredolu) by the 1st defendant (APC) and submission or likely submission of his name as candidate for the general election is arbitrary, whimsical, unlawful, invalid and without any justification whatsoever.”
Adojutelegan accused Akeredolu of wrongly announcing before the primary that he (plaintiff) had withdrawn, an announcement, he claimed, negatively affected his chances in the primary election.
The plaintiff alleged that the delegates’ list was manipulated in favour of Akeredolu, in violation of the relevant provisions of the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act.
Adojutelegan alleged that the delegates’ list was largely made up of principal officers of the Ward Executive Committees from all Wards in the 0ndo State; all members of the Local Government Executive Committee from all Local Government Areas in 0ndo State; and all members of the 0ndo State Executive Committee
The plaintiff is also seeing among others, “an order of perpetual injunction restraining the 2nd defendant from putting himself out or parading himself as candidate of the 1st defendant for the office of Governor of Ondo State in the forthcoming general election for the seat of Governor of Ondo State slated for 10th October 2020 or any other date.”