The Court of Appeal in Akure, Ondo State, has dismissed a suit by Dotun Babayemi, governorship hopeful of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), challenging the candidacy of Osun State Governor-elect, Senator Ademola Adeleke.
Babayemi had filed a legal action against Adeleke before a Federal High Court in Osogbo, seeking to be declared as the PDP candidate for the July 16 governorship election in Osun state.
The party’s internal crisis made it conduct two factional governorship primaries on March 8, 2021, featuring Adeleke and Babayemi.
While Babayemi was declared the winner of the primary election held at the Children and Women Development Centre in Osogbo, Adeleke emerged at the primary election held at Osogbo City Stadium backed by the PDP National Working Committee (NWC).
In a list of candidates later published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Adeleke was recognised as the duly-elected candidate of the PDP in the governorship election in the state.
In his judgment delivered on May 18, Justice Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel held that the primary election conducted at the WOCDIF Centre, Osogbo, on March 8, which produced Babayemi was illegal, null and void.
Dissatisfied with the verdict, Babayemi headed for the Court of Appeal in Akure, challenging the judgment of the lower court and seeking to be declared as the PDP governorship candidate.
But the appellate court in its judgment on Wednesday, upheld the verdict of the lower court and accordingly dismissed Babayemi’s appeal.
Adeleke defeated the incumbent APC Governor Adegboyega Oyetola in the state governorship election on July 16 and scored 403,371 votes to emerge as winner while Oyetola came second with 375,027 votes
