•Cover picture: Plaintiff’s lawyer, Chief Gbenga Apanishile, fielding questions from newsmen on Tuesday.
A Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, on Tuesday adjourned till November 13 for proper service of court processes to affected parties as the All Progressives Congress (APC), filed preliminary objection to the suit marked FHC/AB/CA/144/24, seeking to declare the nomination of its candidate, Dr. Olusola Akinbode, as null and void for the November 16 local government elections in the State.
The plaintiff, Gbenga Akinwande, an engineer, is challenging the APC primaries leading to the selection and nomination of Olusola Akinbode as the Yewa North Council chairmanship candidate of the party.
Also dragged to the court alongside Akinbode are the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC), which were listed as first and second defendant.
In the originating summon dated October 7 and filed October 16, the plaintiff wants the court to determine among other issues, whether the submission by the 1st defendant of Olusola Akinbode to the 2nd defendant (OGSIEC) as its nominated candidate for the Yewa North Council chairmanship election is not in breach of relevant provisions of the electoral Act and constitution of the APC.
The plaintiff also wants the court to give order for the removal of Olusola Akinbode’s name as candidate for the chairmanship election and put his (plaintiff) name as the valid candidate of APC for the Yewa North Council chairmanship election slated for November 16.
Akinwande claimed that Olusola Akinbode did not participate in the screening process of the APC conducted at the party Secretariat located in Ayetoro on September 2nd, adding that the strange manner he emerged as the party candidate for the LGA chairmanship seat in the forthcoming council polls did not follow due process, APC guidelines and electoral laws.
When the matter appeared for further mention and hearing on Tuesday, October 29, before Justice Jordan Adeyemi of the Federal High Court 2, Abeokuta, the defendants and their counsel were present in court while John Gbenga Apanishile announced appearance as counsel for the plaintiff.
Edward Ayo Odugbesan, Counsel for the APC and Dr. Olusola Akinbode (1st & 3rd defendants), told the court that though his clients were still within the 30 – day window to file responses to the plaintiff petition but added that on Monday, October 28, they had filed “preliminary objection” to the suit, to the effect that the plaintiff has no locus standing to initiate it.
He noted that they had also filed appearance.
And same holds true for the OGSIEC(2nd defendant) which filed a counter – affidavit to the suit.
However, considering that the plaintiff’s counsel, Chief Gbenga Apanishile, has to respond to some of the processes filed by the defendants before the case can be heard and coupled with the realization that the bailiff session has also not served all the processes of the defendants to the plaintiff, Justice Adeyemi adjourned the matter till November 13 for hearing.
