Ogun LG polls: Aspirant alleges imposition, sues APC, chairmanship candidate
An engineer and chairmanship aspirant for the Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State under the All Progressives Congress, Gbenga Akinwande, on Wednesday, dragged the party’s chairmanship candidate for the local government, Dr. Olusola Akinbode, before the Federal High Court in Abeokuta, praying the court to declare his candidature invalid, null and void for the November 16 local government elections in the state.
Also dragged to the court alongside Akinbode are the All Progressives Congress and the Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission, listed as the first and second defendants respectively in the suit marked FHC/AB/CA/144/24.
Akinwande, according to the originating summons, claimed that “Akinbode did not participate in any selection or nomination process of the APC; neither did the manner in which he emerged as the party’s candidate for the Yewa North LG chairmanship seat in the forthcoming November 16 local government polls follows due process, APC guidelines, and electoral laws.”
The plaintiff urged the court to “determine, among other issues, whether the submission of Olusola Akinbode by the first defendant, APC, to the second defendant, OGSIEC, as its nominated candidate for the Yewa North Local Government chairmanship election is not in breach of the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act and the constitution of the APC.”
Akinwande also urged the court to give an order for the removal of Akinbode’s name as a candidate for the chairmanship election and to replace it with his name as the valid candidate of the ruling party for the Yewa North Council chairmanship election slated for November 16.
Presiding over the suit on Wednesday, Justice Jordan Adeyemi adjourned the matter to October 29 for hearing and further mention.
Speaking with journalists, John Apanisile, the lawyer for the plaintiff, said that the crux of the matter lies in the claim that the APC failed to follow due process in the nomination of its chairmanship candidate for Yewa North Local Government.
He said, “Our client is challenging the fact that the individual now nominated as the chairmanship candidate was not properly screened or nominated.
“Despite the party’s initial commitment to a transparent primary election process, they completely disregarded the aspirants who participated in the screening, only to nominate someone who did not take part in any of the primaries.”
“My client and about seven other people from the Ayetoro zone underwent the screening process with the community, which was appointed by the party for that purpose; however, that committee ended up not taking any meaningful decisions. The situation now is that there were no primaries.
“Our pleas are before the court, and we trust that justice will be served in this matter.”
