Ondo poll: Court dismisses case challenging eligibility of APC’s candidates

• Aiyedatiwa hails verdict
• Gov never used state funds for guber election, says Ajulo

The Federal High Court sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, has dismissed the suit challenging the qualification of All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates for last month’s governorship election in the state.

According to the presiding judge, Justice Toyin Bolaji Adegoke, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Agboola Ajayi, lacked the locus standi to file the suit against Lucky Aiyedatiwa and his running mate, Olaiyide Adelami.

Justice Adegoke, who emphasised that the case was statute-barred, held that it was filed outside the 14 days required by the Electoral Act, adding that it was filed through originating summons instead of the writ of summons.

The judge held that Section 29 of the Electoral Act made provision for who can challenge the candidate of political parties.

She said the fact that PDP and Ajayi are not aspirants in the APC primary that produced Aiyedatiwa and Adelami as candidates had rubbed them off any legal right to challenge their qualifications.

Meanwhile, Aiyedatiwa has described the dismissal of the case challenging his qualification for the just concluded governorship election in the state as a welcome development.

This was contained in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Ebenezer Adeniyan, yesterday, in Akure, the state capital.

However, the state’s Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General, Dr Olukayode Ajulo (SAN), has said that Aiyedatiwa did not use state funds in the last governorship election.

Ajulo stated this, yesterday, in his keynote speech during a one-day colloquium on Ondo State Public Complaints Financial Crime And Anti-Corruption Law 2022 in Akure, which was organised by the Ondo State Public Complaints Financial Crime And Anti-Corruption Commission (SPFACC).

The commissioner, who stated that the state government had taken proactive measures to tackle corruption, said that the governor would not siphon public funds for personal interest or an election.