Osun Governorship Election: APC appeals judgment invalidated Oyetola’s candidacy.

Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has petitioned the Court of Appeal in Abuja to overturn the judgment that nullified the nomination of Osun State Governor Isiaka Oyetola and his Deputy, Benedict Alabi, as its candidates in the state’s gubernatorial election on July 16.

The APC maintained in its notice of appeal, filed through its team of lawyers led by Dr. Abiodun Layonu, SAN, that the judgment delivered by the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court was not only perverse, but also resulted in a grave miscarriage of justice against it.

The suit that resulted in the judgment was brought before the court by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which it claimed lacked the necessary locus standi to bring the action.

According to Section 84(14) of the Electoral Act, 2022, only an aspirant who participated in the primary election that produced Governor Oyetola and his deputy could complain that either the Act or the political party’s electoral guidelines were not followed in the selection or nomination of a candidate for an election.

It argued that section 284 (14) (1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, only allowed a political party to challenge the action of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, if the commission failed to comply with the Act’s provision regarding the nomination of its candidates.

The Appellant insisted that the PDP lacked the legal authority to inquire into the internal affairs of another political party. As a result, the APC urged the appellate court to overturn the judgment and reinstate Oyetola and Alabi as legitimate candidates in the governorship election.