On Thursday in Abuja, Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court confirmed that Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu will represent the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the legitimate candidate in the Ogun State gubernatorial election of next year.
In upholding Adebutu’s election by his party, Justice Ekwo ruled that the plaintiff, Mr. Jimi Adebisi Lawal, had fallen short of establishing that the PDP had broken any laws in choosing its candidate for the March 11, 2023 governorship election.
The judge ruled that Lawal had not offered trustworthy or credible proof to back up his claim of electoral fraud.
As a result, Justice Ekwo dismissed the case as it lacked both competence and merit.
On September 27, Justice O O Oguntoyin of the Federal High Court in Abeokuta ordered the PDP State Executive Committee to hold new primaries within 14 days.
The PDP governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu, and INEC were the defendants in a lawsuit brought by three party members, Taiwo Olabode-Idris, Kehinde Akala, and Ayinde Monsuri, challenging the validity of the delegates’ lists used to conduct the primary.
But in a unanimous decision of the appellate court, Justice Folasade Ojo stated that the lower court’s judgment was incorrect because only the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP is vested with the authority to conduct the party’s primaries. This was in response to an appeal brought by the PDP.
There are three factions of the PDP in Ogun, each of which has a candidate for governor.
However, the party’s Abuja headquarters recognizes Mr. Adebutu as the organization’s candidate for governor.
The PDP also declined to organize a second round of voting. Instead, it went to the appeals court and asked it to overturn the lower court’s decision.
All of the candidates recognized by the party’s headquarters were reinstated on Monday after the court sided with the party.