From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Thursday, urged the election petition tribunal sitting in Osogbo, Osun State, to discontinue the petition filed before it by Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The ground of the PDP’s application was the nullification of the candidacy of Oyetola by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja which the governor and his party had appealed.
Lead counsel to Oyetola and the APC, Lasun Sanusi SAN, argued that Adeleke, PDP and INEC’s reliance on a Federal Court High judgement was nothing but an abuse of the court process.
Replying to separate applications of the respondents, the counsel noted that the court had ruled that the signatories to the letter conveying the nomination of a candidate are not the nominators; rather, the nomination is done by party members at the congress, hence, the judgement could not stand.
He also cited the case of APM Vs INEC, 2002 NWLR, Pt 18 Page 159, arguing that the application to dismiss the petition based on the judgement was an abuse of the court process and an effort in futility.
In their separate arguments, Counsels for INEC, Paul Ananaba SAN; counsel for Adeleke, Onyechi Ikpeazu SAN, and counsel for the PDP, Alex Izinyon SAN, agreed that any decision that the tribunal would take on the matter would have to wait until the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court decision on it.
They said they just decided to argue the applications to have it on record, a position that the tribunal agreed with and put on record.
Subsequently, all the counsels agreed to commence the full hearing starting with the calling of witnesses on October 26, 2022.