The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the substitution of the House of Representative candidate of the Ondo State All Progressives Congress (APC) for Odigbo/Ile-Oluji/Oke-Igbo, Yejide Ogundipe and ordered him to be replaced by one Festus Adefiranye having won the highest number of votes in the primary election conducted by the party.
The judgement came barely four days to the National Assembly elections.
The judgement of the court was sequel to a suit instituted by Adefiranye through his counsel, James Anietor, challenging the substitution of his name with that of Yejide Ogundipe by the Ondo APC.
The plaintiff had informed the court through an exhibit that he came first in the APC primary election held, having scored the highest number of votes, only to discover his name was not submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
In his ruling, the trial judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole held, “Having listened to the submissions of all counsel in the suit. It is obvious from the exhibit that the plaintiff was not present when the appeal panel was recounting the votes as such the decision of the national working committee of the party on which the plaintiff’s name was substituted cannot be trusted because it was based on a faulty foundation.”
