The All Progressives Congress, APC, now has more troubled water to navigate ahead of the 2023 elections as the Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, has okayed a fresh suit seeking to bar all its candidates from contesting the 2023 general elections.
The suit, marked; FHC/ABJ/CS/1864/2022, was brought before the court by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Specifically, PDP is challenging the legality of the process that produced both national officers of the APC and its candidates for the forthcoming elections.
It is asking the court to disqualify all candidates nominated to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, by the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led Extraordinary Convention Committee of the APC.
The Plaintiff, through its team of lawyers, led by Mr. Ayo Ajibade, SAN, maintained that every nomination made by the Governor Buni-led Committee, was done in breach and gross violation of extant provisions of both the Electoral Act, 2022, and the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
PDP anchored the suit on a subsisting judgement the Federal High Court delivered on September 30, 2022, which declared as illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional, all actions and activities carried out by the Governor Buni-led committee, including the nomination of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola for the recently conducted gubernatorial election in Osun State.
The Plaintiff noted that the high court had in its judgement delivered by Justice Emeka Nwite, nullified the nomination of both Oyetola and his deputy, Benedict Alabi, as APC candidates for the governorship poll on the premise that Governor Buni who submitted their names to INEC, violated provisions of Section 183 of the Constitution and Section 82(3) of the Electoral Act 2022.
Among 53 persons cited as defendants in PDP’s fresh suit, included the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his running mate, Kashim Shetima, as well as all governorship candidates of the party and their deputies.
Also listed for disqualification in the suit are Senatorial and House of Representatives candidates of the party.
Meanwhile, the suit has been assigned to Justice Inyang Ekwo who has fixed it for mention on November 22.
The court further directed service of all the relevant processes on all the defendants.