Breaking: Court Dismiss Case Challenging Victory of Akeredolu APC Primary Election.

By Oluchi Ihediuche

The Federal High Court, seating in Abuja, has dismissed a suit challenging the result of the primary election that produced Mr Rotimi Akeredolu as the governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the last governorship election in the state.

Delivering judgment on the matter, on Wednesday, Justice Inyang Ekwo held that the suit filed by one Mrs Olajumoke Anifowose was statute-barred having been filed outside the 14 days allowed by law in a pre-election matter.

The plaintiff, in the suit filed on her behalf by her counsel, Adesina Oke, had challenged the indirect primary election that produced Akeredolu as the nominated governorship candidate of the APC.

Mrs Anifowose contended that Section 87 of the Electoral Act and Article 20 of the APC Constitution and other relevant election guidelines were violated in the primary election by the state executive committee and local government committee that conducted the primary election.

She, therefore, applied for an order of the court declaring the primary election as invalid and to also bar the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising Akeredolu as a governorship candidate.

The plaintiff also prayed the court to stop the APC from submitting Akeredolu’s name as its governorship candidate and Akeredolu from parading himself as a gubernatorial candidate of the party.

Justice Ekwo, in his judgement, upheld the preliminary objection filed against the suit by Akeredolu and APC who claimed that the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit, which he noted was incompetent as it was not filed within the 14 days required by law.