THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has replaced Olusola Ebiseni, the Labour Party (LP) candidate for the 2024 Ondo State governorship election following a Court of Appeal ruling that sacked him on Thursday, November 14.
In a statement issued Friday night, INEC disclosed that it was served with the certified true copy (CTC) of the appellate court’s ruling, which set aside the Federal High Court ruling affirming Ebiseni’s candidacy.
The earlier decision by the Federal High Court, Abuja, in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1105/2024, had ordered the commission to recognise Ebiseni as the LP candidate.
The presiding judge, Emeka Nwite, ordered INEC to accept Ebiseni and his running mate Ezekiel Awude as the candidates of the LP for the positions of governor and deputy governor in the Ondo State governorship election.
Nwite affirmed that the LP’s second primary election, which resulted in Ebiseni and Awude as the candidates for governor and deputy governor, was legitimate and ought to be recognised by INEC.
However, the Labour Party appealed the ruling, citing jurisdictional errors. The Court of Appeal, in judgment reference number CA/ABJ/CV/1172/2024, found merit in the appeal and struck out the Federal High Court’s judgment for lack of jurisdiction.
The three-member panel of justices led by Hamma Barka, in a unanimous judgment delivered by Adebukola Banjoko on Thursday, November 14, held that the appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/1172/2024 brought by the LP against Ebiseni and two others be allowed.
Banjoko further stated that the parties to the appeal would have immediate access to the certified true copy of the ruling for their perusal.
In his contributing judgment, Abba Mohammed concurred with the other justices’ ruling.
In compliance with the appellate court’s directive, INEC stressed that it reinstated Olorunfemi Ayodele Festus as the LP candidate for the election, held today Saturday, November 16.
“The commission was yesterday 14th November 2024 served with the certified true copy (CTC) of the judgment of the Court of Appeal which set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court (FHC), Abuja Division. The FHC, in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1105/2024 had on 27th September 2024 ordered the commission to accept Olusola Ebiseni as the candidate of the Labour Party for the 2024 Ondo State governorship election.
“However, in the appeal with reference number CA/ABJ/CV/1172/2024 filed by the Labour Party, the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division struck out the judgment of the FHC for lack of jurisdiction.
“In obedience to the court order, the commission has restored Olorunfemi Ayodele Festus, whose name was first published as the Labour Party candidate for the 2024 Ondo State governorship election and uploaded same to our website for public information,” the statement said.
The ICIR reports that 1,757,205 registered voters with permanent voter cards (PVCs) are eligible to participate in the election, which is being conducted across 3,933 polling units in the state’s 18 local government areas.
The Ondo governorship election was initially contested by 18 candidates, but three withdrew from the race. However, the race is primarily seen as a fierce contest between the incumbent Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Agboola Ajayi. Both candidates hail from the southern senatorial district of the state.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M