Court nullifies Ogun PDP Guber Primary, Orders Fresh Exercise
THE Federal High Court in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, on Tuesday, September 27, nullified the governorship primary elections conducted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, saying it was not in compliance with the Electoral Act.
The court also ordered the conduct of a fresh primary election.
The party’s May 25 primary election saw the emergence of two factional candidates- Ladi Adebutu and Segun Sowunmi- as the flagbearers of the party, but three members of the party- Taiwo Olabode Idris, Kehinde Akala and Ayinde Monsuri- subsequently dragged the party, Adebutu and INEC to court, challenging the authenticity of the delegates’ list used in conducting the primary election.
The plaintiffs, in an Originating Summons filed by Dr. Kemi Pinherio (SAN), had approached the court seeking an order nullifying or setting aside the special state congress or indirect primary election held by the party on May 25 to choose the candidate, which the party intends to nominate or sponsor at next year’s governorship election in Ogun State, based on the list of delegates that were not democratically elected at the ward congress.
They also prayed for an order of the court directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to disregard or refrain from giving effect to the results of the alleged first defendant indirect primary election conducted on May 25, based on the list of ad-hoc delegates that were not elected at the ward congresses constituted by the party for that purpose.
In his reaction to the judgment, Counsel to the plaintiffs, Thaddeus Idenyi, said the court nullified the election “because it was conducted using a list of ad-hoc delegates who were not elected. The implication of the judgment is obvious: The PDP will have to put their hats together and then conduct a fresh primary, as ordered by the court.
“This time around, the court was specific that they have to use the list that has been certified by INEC, because after the primary, those lists were submitted to INEC as parts of its report of covering those ward congresses held, so the court has now said that is the list which must be considered in the conduct of the fresh primaries. So, the PDP had to just put their house together and use those lists to conduct a fresh primary.”
The state Publicity Secretary of the party, Akinloye Bankole, said the party would study the judgment before taking any step on it.
