ELEVEN days to the Ekiti State governorship election, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Oladimeji Olakunle Olatunji, has approached A federal High Court, Abuja to disqualify its governorship candidate, John Kayode Fayemi from contesting election scheduled for July 14.
The plaintiff, in a Suite No: FHC/ABJ/05/693/18 and dated July 2, 2018, with John Kayode Fayemi, the APC, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants respectively, is seeking an order disqualifying the 1st defendant from contesting the governorship election, for allegedly submitting false information to the 2nd and 3rd Defendants as it relates to his non-resignation from the public service of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
In a sworn affidavit, Olakunle argued that Fayemi, after serving as the Governor of Ekiti State and after handing over to his successor, was accused of financial impropriety and embezzlement of public funds, as a result of which the Ekiti State Government set up a Judicial Commission of Inquiry headed by a retired Chief Judge of the State, Hon. Justice Silas Bamidele Oyewole, which after its sittings, deliberations and considerations of issues and evidence before it, found him Fayemi guilty of embezzlement and misapplication of public funds, indicted him and banned the 1st Defendant from occupying any public office for ten (10) years, apart from recommending him for criminal prosecution.
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He is therefore seeking to know “whether the information which the 1st Defendant gave to the 2nd and 3rd Defendants part of which is that he had resigned from the public service of the Federal Government of Nigeria as the Federal Minister of Solid Minerals, Mines and Steel Development before the primary election of the 12th May, 2018 and whether he has not been convicted for embezzlement or fraud does not constitute a false information contrary to section 31 (5) and (6) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and Articles 2 and 5 of the 2nd Defendant’s 2014 guidelines for the nomination of candidates for public office which warrants that he should be disqualified from contesting the said 2nd Defendant’s primary election that held on the 12th May, 2018 and the upcoming 3rd Defendant’s Ekiti State governorship election scheduled for the 14th July, 2018.
In Paragraph 26 of the Affidavit, the claimant averred that “the 1st defendant who was a public officer/servant as a federal Minister of the Federal Government of Nigeria did not resign from his position as a serving Minister of the Federal Government of Nigeria thirty (30) days to the said 5th May, 2018, when the 2nd Defendant’s primary election for the nomination of candidate for the 14th July, 2018, Ekiti State governorship election was originally fixed and later the 12th May, 2018 when the said primary election was eventually held, yet the 1st Defendant was purportedly declared and returned as the 2nd Defendant’s candidate for the said 14th July, 2018 Ekiti State governorship election.
The Claimant therefore seeks “A declaration that the information which the 1st Defendant submitted to the 2nd Defendant and which the 2nd Defendant in turn submitted to the 3rd Defendant as it relates to the 1st Defendant’s resignation from the public service of the Federal Government of Nigeria as the federal Minister of Solid Minerals, Mines and Steel Development before the 2nd Defendant’s primary election of the 12th May, 2018 and that he has not been convicted for embezzlement or fraud are false information contrary to the provisions of the 2nd Defendant’s Constitution, Articles 2 and 5 of the 2nd Defendant’s 2014 Guidelines for the Nomination of Candidates for Public offices and section 31 (5) and (6) of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended).
“A declaration that the 941 votes credited or recorded as votes cast for the 1st Defendant at the 12th May, 2018 Governorship primary election are void, invalid and wasted, since the 1st Defendant did not meet the minimum qualification/requirement to participate in the said primary election as a contestant and an aspirant in that election, and that the pronouncement of the 1st Defendant as the winner and the nominated candidate of the 2nd Defendant’s Governorship primary election which was held on the 12th May, 2018, without the 1st Defendant resigning from the public service of the federal government of Nigeria in addition to his conviction for embezzlement and fraud by a Judicial Commission of Inquiry both contrary to the 2nd Defendant’s Constitution and Articles 2 and 5 of the 2nd Defendant’s 2014 Guidelines for the Nomination of Candidates for Public offices is a nullity, null, void.”
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He also sought among others, “a declaration that the second runner up in the said 2nd Defendant’s primary election (which is Adebayo Segun Oni) having scored 481 votes which is the majority of the lawful and valid votes cast at the said 2nd Defendant’s 12th May, 2018 Governorship primary election for the purpose of nominating/determining the 2nd Defendant’s candidate for the 14th July, 2018 Ekiti State Governorship election is the person that was validly nominated by the 2nd Defendant for the said 14th July, 2018 Ekiti State Governorship election.
“An order disqualifying the 1st Defendant from contesting the 2nd Defendant’s Governorship primary election which was held on the 12th May, 2018 and the Ekiti State Governorship election which is scheduled to hold on the 14th July, 2018 for submitting false information to the 2nd and 3rd Defendants as it relates to his non-resignation from the public service of the Federal Government of Nigeria in addition to his conviction for embezzlement and fraud by a Judicial Commission of Inquiry on the basis of which he contested the said 2nd Defendant’s Governorship primary election and is contesting the awaiting Ekiti State 14th July, 2018 Governorship election.
“An order setting aside the pronouncement and or nomination of the 1st Defendant as the winner of the 2nd Defendant’s Governorship primary election which was held on the 12th May, 2018, without the 1st Defendant resigning from the public service of the Federal Government of Nigeria in addition to his conviction for embezzlement and fraud by a Judicial Commission of Inquiry contrary to the 2nd Defendant’s Constitution and Articles 2 and 5 of the 2nd Defendant’s 2014 Guidelines for the Nomination of Candidates for Public offices and because the 1st Defendant submitted false information to the 2nd and 3rd Defendants to contest the said 2nd Defendant’s Governorship primary election and the 14th July, 2018 Ekiti State Governorship Election.
The claimant is also seeking an order directing INEC, to forward the name of the second runner up in the primary election, Adebayo Segun Oni, to INEC as the 2nd Defendant’s duly nominated candidate for the Ekiti State Governorship election scheduled to hold on the 14th July, 2018, as well as an order of the court directing INEC to strike out and or delete the name of Kayode Fayemi as the candidate and replace him with the name of the second runner up in the primary election The claimant also seeks an order of perpetual injunction restraining Fayemi from parading himself or holding himself out in any manner or guise whatsoever as the validly/duly nominated gubernatorial candidate of the 2nd Defendant for the Ekiti State Governorship Election. Addressing journalists yesterday in Abuja, Olatunji said: “The constitution must take its course; the party has a constitution and guidelines which the candidate of the APC, John Kayode Fayemi, in Ekiti State did not oblige to. Due to this, even while in office as a sitting governor, he can still be disqualified, and whosoever that might have emerged second position in the primary election will be declared winner of the election. This is a constitutional matter. It is better to lay a good precedence as far as our democracy is concerned so that people can follow this route.
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“The APC will definitely emerge victorious in the forthcoming Ekiti State governorship; the essence of going to court against Fayemi is that when time comes and somebody wants to do exactly what he did; he will be cautioned.
“Tomorrow it could be you, it could be me or somebody else, so we have to lay a good precedence today, whereby everybody will know that this is exactly what we would have done, because every other person who contested with him at the primary level resigned, such as Chief Oni who resigned almost 40 days before the election took place, so how much more of a sitting minister who used the state apparatus for his own advantage, and you can’t be a judge in your own matter; it is against the rule of law. So in view of this, the man who ought to resign that refused to resign will be honourably disqualified in court; it is only the court that can do that.”
