.Ondo Assembly ex-Speaker calls for truce amid crisis
Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has ordered the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to file their defence in a suit seeking the removal of Aiyedatiwa as APC’s gubernatorial candidate for November election.
The judge ordered that the three defendants must file their respective defence within the days allowed by law since the suit is a time-bound one.
The order followed a claim by the APC that it had written a letter to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court requesting transfer of the case to Ondo State.
The APC’s lead counsel, Tayo Oyetibo, during yesterday’s proceedings, informed the court that his client had forwarded a letter to the chief judge praying for the movement of the case from Abuja to Akure.
He, however, admitted that the APC had not received any response to the letter.
But in response, Justice Ekwo held that there was no letter before him and as such, could not act on anything not before the court.
The judge ordered that with or without the letter before him, the defendants must respond to the issues raised by the plaintiff, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, against the conduct of the primary election that produced Aiyedatiwa as APC’s gubernatorial candidate.
The APC in its letter by Matthew Bukkar, dated May 12, 2024, but received in the chief judge’s office on May 13, 2024, claimed that the primary election being challenged was conducted in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
It said that it has a functional office in Akure with the State Working Committee on the ground and that the electoral body also has an office in Akure.
Besides, it said that Aiyedatiwa, whose candidacy is being challenged, is a resident of Akure.
The party, therefore, said that the Akure Division of the Federal High Court is the approximate convenient place for the case to be determined.
However, counsel to the plaintiff, Chris Uche, was prevented from reacting to the letter on the ground that the said letter was not before the court.
The judge, thereafter, fixed May 29, 2024, for the hearing of the suit with a warning that all processes in respect of the suit must be filed and exchanged by parties.
Ibrahim is praying the court to cancel the nomination of Aiyedatiwa as APC candidate on the ground that the April 20 primary election that produced him was unlawful.
Meanwhile, a former Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly and current Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Victor Olabimtan, has called on members of the party to give peace a chance and avoid politics of bitterness.
Olabimtan, who described Jimoh Ibrahim as a party stalwart, expressed optimism that the current discord would soon be resolved in the best interest of the APC.
The former Speaker, who stated this in a statement made available to The Guardian, said: “My attention has been drawn to the campaign of calumny and attack on my person, which has degenerated into an exchange of tantrums among party faithful.
“I am using this medium to caution and appeal to my supporters and all APC members to desist from any action that’s inimical to the peace and unity of our dear party.”
