An aspirant in last Saturday’s governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo state, Chief Olusola Oke, SAN, has filed a petition before the Appeal Committee set up by the party, seeking the cancellation of the election.
With Oke’s petition, the number of aspirants who participated in the exercise and seeking its cancellation had risen to six.
As at Tuesday, those who had filed petitions include, Wale Akinterinwa, Jimi Odimayo, Gbenga Edema, Funmi Omogoroye and Jimoh Ibrahim. Olusola Oke’s petition became the latest addition on Wednesday.
In the petition forwarded to the Appeal Committee by his lawyer, Oluwaseyi Bamigboye, Oke described the election as a charade and not in compliance with the law and applicable regulations/guidelines of the party.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria made it clear in the Appeal that the election was a nullity, having been organised and supervised by the National Chairman of the party, Abdullahi Ganduje, who has been restrained by a Kano State High Court.
He also alleged that the election was fraught with irregularities and marred with infractions saying: “the primary election was not conducted as prescribed by law and the APC Constitution and Nomination Guidelines.”
The Counsel however, stated in the petition that: “The primary election is a nullity having been organised, superintended and supervised by HE, Abdullahi Ganduje against a valid, binding and subsisting order of Kano State High Court by which he was restrained from performing the functions of the office of National Chairman of the APC at all times material to the conduct of the primary Election.
“The primary election was not conducted as prescribed by law and the APC Constitution and Nomination Guidelines”
He itemised the infractions to include absence of validated membership register, failure to deploy electoral personnel to the venues prescribed for each ward and each local government, failure to distribute electoral materials to local hovernments and wards where elections were to hold and election results collated.
He noted that: “Also the election failed to follow the prescribed procedure for voting which is Open Secret Ballot not adopted (paragraph 22(iii)(2) which states that:”Members shall assemble at their respective wards and vote by Open Secret Ballot (Option A4)”
He identified other infractions to include, failure to display membership register, no accreditation of financial members, change of venues without notice, non accreditation of aspirants’ agents, among others.
“Election not conducted, yet results generated and allocated by Returning Officers camped in Hotel in Akure, while the results declared were not product of any election. There was widespread violence and corruption.
“Oral and documentary evidence shalt be profiled in support of the above grounds should there be opportunity to do so,” he added.
