Ogun LG Polls: Court adjourns case seeking to void APC candidate to Nov 13

By Jude Opara

A Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital has adjourned the case seeking to declare void the nomination of APC’s Olusola Akinbode, candidate for the November 16 local government elections in the State.
The plaintiff, Gbenga Akinwande, had challenged the APC primaries leading to the selection and nomination of Olusola Akinbode as the Yewa North Council chairmanship candidate of the party.
He also dragged to court, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission, (OGSIEC) which were listed as the first and second defendants.
Akinwande argued that Olusola Akinbode did not participate in the screening process of the APC conducted at the party Secretariat located in Ayetoro, 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.
The suit marked FHC/AB/CA/144/24 appeared before Justice Jordan Adeyemi of the Federal High Court 2, Abeokuta, and the defendants and their counsel were present in court while John Gbenga Apanishile announced his 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 an appearance and OGSIEC(2nd defendant) filed a counter-affidavit to the suit.
However, considering that the plaintiff’s counsel, 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.