By Sunday Ani, Lagos
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has affirmed the candidacy of Mr Abiodun Moshood Aro as the All Progressives Congress (APC) flagbearer for the Ikorodu Constituency 2 election in 2023.
Aro was elected as the APC candidate for the Ikorodu constituency 2 in the party’s primary election on May 27, but his candidacy was later challenged in court by one of the aspirants, Mr Oluwatosin Onamade.
Onamade had filed a suit in court against the APC, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Mr Aro, asking the court to nullify the candidacy of Aro and declare him the lawful candidate of the party.
Delivering judgement in the suit, the presiding judge, Justice Iniekenimi Nicholas Oweibo, agreed that the defendant’s counsel, Abbas Oyeyemi, upheld the preliminary objection he earlier filed.
The court further held that the plaintiff’s suit was statute-barred, having been filed outside the time frame stipulated by section 285 (9) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.
The court also ruled on the substantive originating summons filed by the plaintiff and held that the plaintiff failed to establish his claims that the primary election conducted by the APC on May 27, 2022, was not in accordance with the provision of the Electoral Act 2022.
The court, therefore, dismissed the plaintiff’s claim in its entirety and awarded a cost of N50,000 against the plaintiff in favour of Mr Aro.