The outgoing governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Mimiko on Friday faulted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the listing of Jimoh Ibrahim as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the forthcoming governorship election in the state.
According to him, Eyitayo Jegede is the lawful candidate of the party.
He also pointed out that the Justice Abang judgment INEC relied upon has nothing to do with Jimoh and Jegede.
Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Mimiko said: “I am shocked. In logic, in law, in politics, there is no basis for it whatsoever. The Jimoh Ibrahim factor in all of this is predicated on a court order given by Justice Abang. Incidentally that court order is about zonal and state executives of PDP. That order is about 2009 election.
“Neither Jimoh Ibrahim nor Tayo Jegede were parties to the suit. So, when that judgment suddenly came because when the name of Ibrahim was sent to INEC after a primary election which was conducted in Ibadan without INEC monitoring it, without security agencies, SSS or police, when the name gets to INEC and this Abang judgment was attached, INEC took the right decision initially by making it clear that to start with, it is not state or zonal executive that is empowered by the electoral act to conduct election, number two, the Abang judgment on the basis of which they were putting pressure on INEC to accept Jimoh Ibrahim as a candidate was referring to 2009 election.
“There is nothing about 2016 election in that judgment. So, on the basis of this, a nitro, INEC refused and discountenanced the name of Jimoh Ibrahim as a candidate.
“Then they went ahead and filed form 48 and from the blues, the same Justice Abang mandated INEC to replace the name of Eyitayo Jegede who emerged through a primary process that was supervised by INEC, security agencies on live television with all delegates that were supposed to participate, then Abang ordered that Jimoh Ibrahim should replace Eyigayo Jegede.” He said
Continuing, he said: “Ordinarily, we should have disregarded the order because like I said, Jegede was not a party to the suit, neither was Jimoh Ibrahim. But we were also advised that it was very important for us to appeal so that if anybody is up to a mischief, we would have taken the plank off the person.
According to him, they immediately appealed.
“When we had filed in our papers, submitted our briefs and gotten date, that should serve as a stay of execution. We don’t want to take chances because somebody in INEC told us that they obey the last order in the commission.
“Some went to court and obtained two different orders mandating INEC not to substitute Eyigayo Jegede. We served one on INEC around 10 am yesterday, and we served INEC with the order one at the close of business around 3 pm. Only around 7 or 8 pm, we got to know that INEC for no justifiable reason had substituted the name of Jegede and replaced it with that of Ibrahim.
“The question to ask is on whose order has INEC done that? Apart from the fact that we have two restraining orders on INEC, INEC knows fully well that Jimoh Ibrahim’s primaries was in Ibadan. There was no report by any security agencies that the security situation in Ondo state warranted the movement of the primaries to Ibadan or anywhere outside the state for that matter.” He said
He also pointed out that the time for substitution of candidates has even elapsed under INEC’s guidelines.
INEC’s action, he noted, can potentially cause a breach of peace in the state.
He said that his administration in the last seven and half years has done everything possible to put good governance on the table.
“We see this action as potentially dangerous. It can cause conflagration in the state and that is why as the chief security officer of the state, I have come to alert Mr President of the potential danger of this injustice so that we can nip it in the bud.” He added
On the President’s response, Mimiko said: “Mr president has promised to look into it and that if there is any injustice, we should be rest assured that it will be rectified.”
Speaking on protest in the state, he said: “The whole day from 5 a.m, I have been on phone with stakeholders to ensure they keep the peace in the state. The extent of the protest you have seen has been reduced by our intervention to ensure that there is no breach of peace.
“I have assured them that this injustice will not stay. We will continue to explore all avenues to make INEC see reasons why this impunity must not stand.
Asked whether he still has confidence in INEC conducting a credible election, he said: “If INEC finds it difficult to obey court order, a credible election starts with a process like this.”