Court Sacks Ondo Rep Member as PDP Candidate

A federal high court in Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Tuesday ordered the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to remove the name of the incumbent House of Representatives member for Owo/Ose federal constituency, Hon Bode Ayorinde, as the party's candidate for the February 16 election.

The court, presided over by Justice Abdul Dogo, subsequently ordered the PDP to send the name of Mr. Sodiq Obanoyen to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the candidate of the party in the election.

The court also ordered Ayorinde to stop parading himself as the candidate of the PDP for the forthcoming House of Representatives election for Owo/Ose federal constituency.

The judgment was sequel to a suit filed by Obanoyen against the removal of his name by the PDP and subsequent submission of Ayorinde's name to INEC as the candidate of the party.

Obanoyen reportedly won the House of Representatives primary in the Owo/Ose federal constituency held in Owo in October 2018, having scored 107 votes while Ayorinde polled 73 votes.

The Obanoyen's suit had the PDP, the Chairman of the Ondo State PDP, Mr. Clement Faboyede; Ayorinde and the INEC as the first, second, third and fourth defendants in the case respectively.

At the trial stage, the counsel to the third defendant ( Ayorinde), Mr. Tolu Babaleye, asked the court to uphold the disqualification of the plaintiff on the ground that Obanoyen did not resign his appointment as a legislative aide to the Deputy Senate President,  Ike Ekeremadu, before obtaining the form to contest the primary election.

Babaleye argued that non resignation of Obanoyen contravened the PDP's primary election guidelines.

Countering Babaleye's argument, the plaintiff's legal team led by Mr. Remi Olatubora, presented the evidence that showed the appropriate resignation of its client to the court.

Reading out the judgment, Dogo struck out the prayers of the first and third defendants for lack of merit.

 The court also held that the plaintiff duly tendered his resignation letter before obtaining the form and thereby qualified to contest the election.

He ruled that: “The first defendant (PDP) is hereby ordered to forward the name of the plaintiff to the fourth defendant as the candidate of the first defendant in the election.

"The third defendant (Ayorinde) is hereby restrained from parading himself as the candidate of the first defendant in the election.

"The fourth defendant is hereby restrained from recognising the third defendant as the candidate of the first defendant in the election."