More trouble looms for the rulling All Progressive Congress, APC, as the Federal High Court in Abuja, has okayed a fresh suit brought before it by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, seeking to disqualify all its candidates from contesting the 2023 general elections.
In a lawsuit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1864/2022, PDP is challenging the legality of the processes that produced both national officers of the APC and its candidates for the 2023 elections, Vanguard reports.
PDP, through its team of lawyers led by Mr. Ayo Ajibade, SAN, maintained that every nomination that was made by the Governor Buni-led Committee, including the Extraordinary Conversation that produced the national officers of the party, and the nomination of all its candidates submitted to INEC by the national officers was done in breach and gross violation of provisions of both the Electoral Act, 2022, and the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The opposition party premised its suit on a existing judgement by Federal High Court delivered on September 30, 2022, which declared as illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional, all actions and activities that were carried out by the governor Buni-led Committee, especially the nomination of governor Adegboyega Oyetola for Osun State 2022 governorship election.
The Plaintiff maintained that the presiding judge, Justice Emeka Nwite of a Federal High Court had nullified the nomination of both Oyetola and his Deputy, Benedict Alabi as APC candidates for the governorship poll on the ground that governor Buni who submitted their names to the INEC, acted in violations of Section 183 of the Constitution and Section 82(3) of the Electoral Act 2022.
PDP is therefore praying the court to disqualify all the candidates that were nominated to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC by APC national chairman.
The defendants in the suit includes the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, his running, Kashim Shettima, all governorship candidates and their deputies.
Others are all senatorial and House of Representatives candidates of the party.
The suit has been assigned to Justice Inyang Ekwo, and November 22 has been fixed for mentioning.
The court also directed service of all the relevant processes on all the 53 defendants.