Jimoh Ibrahim, Senator representing Ondo South has approached a Federal High Court in Abuja, to seek the nullification of the primary election that produced Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, as the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate for the November election in Ondo State.
Ibrahim, in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/588/2024, told the court that the April 20 primary election that brought up Aiyedatiwa as APC candidate was marred by irregularities.
The senator, who participated in the primary election as a governorship aspirant, alleged that the primary was unlawful.
He claimed that Sections 221, and 228 of the 1999 Constitution and 84 of the Electoral Act 2022 were grossly violated in the conduct of the primary election.
He alleged that some delegates who could have voted for him at the primary election were not accredited to vote thereby making the primary election liable to be set aside and nullified.
He prayed the court to bar the Independent National Electoral Commission from accepting Aiyedatiwa as the APC governorship candidate in the November 16 gubernatorial election in the state.
He also sought an order of perpetual injunction prohibiting Aiyedatiwa from holding himself out or parading himself as the APC governorship candidate.
Ibrahim also asked the court to set aside the purported primary election and compel the APC to conduct a fresh one in compliance with Sections 221, and 228 of the 1999 Constitution and 84 of the Electoral Act 2022.
The senator prayed to the Federal High Court to delist the names of the APC and Aiyedatiwa from the political parties and candidates that would participate in the gubernatorial poll.
The plaintiff further requested that the APC and Aiyedatiwa be relieved of all rights except a fresh primary election is lawfully conducted to nominate a candidate for the governorship election.
At Wednesday’s proceedings, Ibrahim’s counsel, Chris Uche (SAN), moved an ex-parte application for an order of substituted service of the court process on Aiyedatiwa through any staff of the APC at the national secretariat in Abuja.
The request was granted by Justice Inyang Ekwo, who in a brief ruling, ordered that the process in the suit be served on the Ondo State governor through the APC.
He said, “Leave is granted the plaintiff/applicant to serve the originating summon and all other processes of this court in this suit on the second defendant by substituted means to wit; by delivery of same to any staff at the All Progressives Congress, national headquarters, at No: 40, Blantyre Street, Off Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, Wuse 2, Abuja, being the political party of the second defendant.
“Service to be effected within two days of this order. Case adjourned till May 14, 2024, for mention.”
While Jimoh Ibrahim is the sole plaintiff in the suit, the APC, Aiyedatiwa and INEC are the first to third defendants respectively.
Aiyedatiwa was declared the winner of the primary election by the chairman of the election committee and the Governor of Kogi State, Usman Ododo.
Ododo while announcing Aiyedatiwa as the winner had said, “I can confirm that the direct mode of the primary election, adopted in the 2024 Ondo State governorship primary elections held in all 203 electoral wards, in all the 18 LGAs in Ondo State.”
The Ondo State governor won 16 of the 18 local government areas in the state by amassing 48,569 votes to beat his closest rival Mayowa Akinfolarin, who polled 15,343 votes in the election.
Olusola Oke got 14,865 votes which earned him the third position.
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