The Supreme Court on Thursday brought issues that had to do with the Osun state 2022 PDP gubernatorial primary election to a close as it not only dismissed the appeal filed by Prince Dotun Babayemi but also affirmed former Senator Ademola Adeleke’s candidacy.
Former Senator Ademola Adeleke is the Osun state Governor-elect.
It will be recalled that two separate guber primaries were held by members of the Osun state PDP on March 8 and this had two people; former senator Ademola Adeleke and Prince Dotun Babayemi laying claim to the party’s guber nomination.
While the one held at the Osogbo City Stadium was supervised by the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa state , Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, who was the chairman of the committee set up for this purpose by the PDP National Working Committee, some leaders of the party in the state converged on the Women and Children Development Initiative Foundation (WOCDIF) Centre, Osogbo where Babayemi was declared as PDP guber candidate.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) however recognized Adeleke as the party’s guber candidate , a development that prompted Babayemi’s decision to oppose this through a legal action.
INEC had since announced Adeleke as winner of the gubernatorial election held in the state on 16 July 2022.
Team@orientactualmags.com learned the Supreme Court in a unanimous decision by a five-man panel of justices on Thursday dismissed Prince Dotun Babayemi’s appeal .
Counsel for Babayemi, Mr. Adebayo Adelodun, SAN, withdrew the appeal after the panel led by Justice Amina Augie, had called his attention to the fact that the case was statute barred.
While stating that ‘a pre-election matter has a period of 14 days, and like a rock of Gibraltar, cannot be moved’ the apex court noted that there was nothing before it to invoke its jurisdiction.
The panel had noted that the appeal was incompetent having been filed outside the 14 days period provided by law.
It will be recalled that Justice Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel of the Federal High Court, Osogbo had in his judgment on the matter on May 18 recognized the guber primary that produced Adeleke while the Court of Appeal, Akure Division had also followed suit on July 20 – Team@orientactualmags.com
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