Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja , on Thursday, dismissed a suit by Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, an associate of the Minister of Interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, challenging the legality of the emergence of Osun State Governor Adegboyega Oyetola as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the state governorship poll on Saturday.
With two days to the governorship election in Osun State, Justice Ekwo also held that the disqualification suit was an internal affairs of the APC, saying that it was an abuse of court process.
The judge further held that the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the matter.
Adeoti, a governorship aspirant in the party’s primary, had filed the legal action against the APC, Oyetola and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), accusing Oyetola of unlawfully contesting the primaries as a member of the party’s Caretaker Extraordinary and Convention Planning Committee (CECPC).
Adeoti also argued that the APC violated Section 222 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Article 31(iii) of the APC Constitution (as amended), by allowing Oyetola to contest the primary while being a member of the committee.
The lead lawyer to Adeoti, Chief Chiesonu Okpoko (SAN), had informed the court that Oyetola should have resigned from that committee 30 days before the APC primary election on February 19.
But the APC and INEC had opposed the suit and filed preliminary objections on many grounds.
The APC also urged the court to take a judicial notice of the fact that Adeoti’s originating process was incompetent on the grounds that there was no law backing it.
The ruling party further argued that the court lacked jurisdiction to determine the suit as the issues revolved around the internal affairs of the party.
Delivering his judgment on Thursday, Justice Ekwo agreed with the APC that the committee was an ad-hoc arrangement within the party and did not amount to a constitutional office.
The judge said, “The committee is an internal affair of the APC and the court cannot interfere. The argument of the first defendant succeeds, and I so hold”.
On whether the suit was a pre-election matter, the judge held that the plaintiff’s suit would have made sense if he had challenged the status of the committee vis-a-vis the Constitution, and not to challenge a political party where he contested and scored votes.
Justice Ekwo further held that a political party has power to amend its own constitution.
The judge said, “I hereby decline jurisdiction in the internal affairs of a political party. Where a member is dissatisfied with the party’s decision, the only option is for such person to leave. The plaintiff has shown no cause of action in the case and I so hold.”
Justice Ekwo consequently dismissed the suit for lack of jurisdiction and an abuse of court process, saying that there was no iota of law to back the legal action.
