Senator Ademola Adeleke has dismissed all allegations leveled against him by one of the aggrieved aspirants. He said the allegations that the primary election was manipulated and that he lacked the requisite qualification was baseless.
Mr. Rasheed Olabayo and Oluwaseun Idowu had approached an Osun State High Court claiming that Senator Adeleke did not possess a certificate as required by Section 177 (d) of the 1999 constitution and told the court to set aside the July 21, 2018 primary election which produced him as the governorship candidate of the PDP in the state.
The High Court sitting in Osogbo, the state capital, thursday, ruled that Senator Ademola Adeleke, be given the opportunity to present his certificate before the court by Wednesday, August 1, 2018.
While ruling on the ex-parte application filed by the duo, the Judge explained that granting the leave to restrain the PDP from presenting Adeleke as its governorship candidate over his inability to present his certificate may subject the court to mockery if the Senator thereafter presents the certificate.
Justice David Oladimeji noted that
“It will be inequitable not to allow the respondent to come and show his certificate if he has any but if given the opportunity to present his side of the case, the balance which is necessary for interlocutory injunction would be adequately considered.”
Justice Oladimeji stressed that the ex-parte injunction as only seven days lifespan and that there are still window left open till August 8 according to the affidavits sworn to by the applicants.
The presiding judge added that
“being an election matter, it is my conviction that the public will not be uninterested in the proceedings of this court”, explaining that the importance of the matter would make the court not to grant the injunction and warned that, “once a matter is before a court any party cannot take a further step without the express permission of the court”.
Justice Oladimeji thereafter adjourned the motion on notice till Wednesday, August 1, 2018, for definite hearing, adding that no form of excuse from the litigants would be tolerated by the court.
The PDP’s candidate, however, expressed confidence over the chances of the party to clinch victory at the polls.
Addressing a press conference at the National Secretariat of the PDP in Abuja, Spokesman of the Adeleke Campaign Organisation, Rasheed Olawale, said “It is open to the public that the Osun PDP primaries election was one of the most transparent in recent Political history.
“The entire electoral activity was televised live and the counting was done in the open. The challenger requested for recount and this was done twice.
“No process can be more open than what the Governor Seriake Dickson election committee did in Osun last Saturday,” he said.
On the issue of school certificate, Olawale said Section 177[c] of the Nigerian constitution and section 317 were explicit on educational requirements for the office of the governor, adding that Senator Adeleke is eminently eligible and qualified to seek the office of a governor.
While expressing concern over the dimension in which the dispute over the governorship ticket has taken, Adeleke’s spokesman said there seems to be a grand design by the fifth columnist to scuttle the chances of the party in the election.
“A grand design appears to be under execution to discredit and weaken the party and denigrate the candidate. The actions and conduct of the challenging camp now border on a deliberate plot to pull down the party as evidenced by court action launched even before the appeal panel of the party could sit as well as the barrage of media attacks.
“The MOU was explicit enough on the need for unity and common front after the primaries. Like all other aspirants, Senator Adeleke signed the MOU and his challenger also did the same.
“While accepting the rights of any aggrieved aspirant to seek redress, the recent developments raise discomforting questions about the real motive of the challenging camp. The situation is taking a new dimension bordering on destructive anti-party activities,” he said.
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