A FEDERAL High Court in Abuja has upheld Governor Gboyega Oyetola as the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Osun State gubernatorial election slated for July 16.
The court dismissed a suit filed by the former Secretary to the Osun State Government, Moshood Adeoti, against Oyetola’s nomination as the flagbearer of the party.
Adeoti had protested that Oyetola violated the provisions of Article 31 (3) of the APC Constitution as he allegedly did not resign his membership of the Caretaker/Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) 30 days before the party’s primary election where he emerged the governorship candidate.
Justice Inyang Ekwo held in a judgment on Thursday that the suit was an abuse of court process because it disclosed no cause of action.
He noted that the subject matter of the suit falls outside the scope of Section 285(14) of the Constitution and Section 87(9) of the Electoral Act.
The judge held that the case did not qualify as pre-election matter, stating that it falls within the internal affairs of the party and as a result the court could not intervene.
While the judge also held that Adeoti failed to exhaust the internal dispute resolution mechanisms of the party before approaching the court, he further stated that the creation of the CECPC was a decision of the APC as an ad-hoc measure.
The judge held that holding a position in CECPC did not amount to occupying a party office for which officials are elected.
