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Indications have emerged that the governorship election conducted in Ogun on March 9, might be cancelled for a rerun to take place.
The Labour Party in the state had threatened to drag the Independent National Electoral Commission to court calling for the cancellation of the election over the unlawful exclusion of the party’s name from the ballotpaper which in turn shut the party out of the contest.
On the ground for which the election could be nullified by the tribunal or court, the electoral act stated that; “Act138 (d) that the petitioner or its candidate was validly nominated but unlawfully excluded from the election.
“Act 140(1) subject to subsection (2) of this section, if the tribunal or the court as the case may be, determines that a candidate who was returned as elected was not validly elected on any ground, the tribunal or the court shall nullify the election. ”
Speaking with the Chairman of Labour Party Com. Abayomi Arabambi vowed to present to the court that, the elected candidate Prince Dapo Abiodun wasn’t validly elected owing to the unlawful exclusion of his party from the ballot paper.
Investigation has it, that the proposed legal tussle has begun to cause trembling in the camp of the governor-elect among other stakeholders instrumental to his emergence.
On the contrary, Some stakeholders in the state who comprised of oppositions, a paramount ruler (name withheld) among other monarchs in the state are happy and wants the election to be cancelled.
Meanwhile, there was a sign of relief in Dapo Abiodun’s camp when some key members of his political family started to say that, Labour party did not submit names for both the governorship and deputy governorship positions.
According to the electoral act, on the submission of list of candidates and their affidavits by political parties in Act 31 (1) ; every political party shall not later than 60 days before the appointed day for a general election under the provision of this act, submit to the commission, in the prescribed forms, the list of the candidates the party proposes to sponsor at the election, provided that the commission shall not reject or disqualify candidate(s) for any reason whatsoever.
However, we reliably gathered that the party submitted names for both the governorship and deputy governorship positions to the commission, as a source inside INEC in Abuja showed the photocopy of the Acknowledgement of receipt of FORM Cf 001 for both governorship and deputy of the party to our reporter.
The acknowledgement copy was signed and dated 2nd November.
The party chairman further vowed to expose the rot and suspected individuals behind the said exclusion in Abuja.
Arabambi also said that the party through it lawyer will write the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practise Commission, ICPC, to investigate a woman (name withheld) inside INEC in Abuja.
His words, ” By the grace of God, on Wednesday we would be presenting our case before the court, where we shall prove that the governor-elect was invalidly elected owing to our exclusion from the race.
” we would not stop at that, we would also expose the rot and also point at a woman who we suspect to be behind this criminal and unlawful exclusion.”
Source: PLATFORM TIMES
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