REVIEW… SACKING OF OYETOLA: Is the coast clear for Ekiti governor-elect, others?

The outgoing governor of Osun state, Gboyega Oyetola, got served a bombshell by a Federal High Court in Abuja when the court nullified his candidacy in the July 16 governorship election.

This was even as Oyetola is in court challenging the outcome of the election which was won by Ademola Adeleke of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

PDP in the state, through its lawyer, Kehinde Ogunwumiju (SAN), had challenged the candidacy of Oyetola and his deputy, Benedict Alabi in the election, on the premise that the governorship primary election of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state was illegal.

Ogunwumiju who cited section 183 of the 1999 constitution, and section 82 of the Electoral Act 2022, argued that the APC Caretaker committee led by Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State was not qualified to conduct the primary election.

For the record, section 183 of the 1999 constitution says: “The Governor shall not, during the period when he holds office, hold any other executive office or paid employment in any capacity whatsoever.”

Although, Oyetola’s lawyer, Kunle Adegoke challenged the competence of the suit, majorly on the ground that the Plaintiff did not have the locus to commence the action and that the suit was statute-barred.

However, Justice Emeka Nwite agreed with the submissions of the plaintiff’s counsel that Governor Buni acted in contravention of the provision of Section 183 of the Constitution by holding dual executive positions as the Governor of Yobe State and the Chairman of the defunct National Caretaker Committee of APC, which supervised the party’s primary election in Osun.

The court declared as null and void, the nomination of Governor Isiaka Oyetola and Benedict Alabi by the APC for the governorship election.

Does this cast a shadow over other primaries supervised by Buni’s committee?

The court judgement can be translated to mean that Oyetola, who is still sulking from his defeat at the polls, was not even qualified to participate in the election. This has raised questions from various quarters on the integrity of other primary elections conducted or supervised by the Buni-led caretaker committee.

The National Executive Council of the APC, in June 2020 sacked the National Working Committee (NWC) led by former governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomole, and appointed a 13-man Caretaker and Extra-Ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), and announced Governor Buni as its chairman.

At the time, the party was embroiled in crises as many governors were displeased with the conduct of Oshiomole’s NWC in the 2019 election. Buni’s committee was charged with a singular responsibility of appeasing aggrieved members of the party.

The committee was in charge of the party’s affairs until the incumbent members of the National Working Committee were elected at the party’s National Convention in March 2022.

While it held sway, Buni’s committee supervised governorship primary elections in Ondo, Ekiti and Anambra states, as well as primaries for By-elections in four states – Cross River, Imo, Ondo, and Plateau.

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APC cleared the by-elections in Cross River, Imo and Ondo, while it also won the governorship elections in Ondo and Ekiti. It lost in Anambra and Plateau.

Interestingly, a number of APC members had raised this concern earlier on, that primaries held under Buni would be subject to litigation and could create issues for the party. This was amongst several reasons many had pushed for the sacking of that committee.

How the Supreme Court affirmed Akeredolu’s victory

Meanwhile, Oyetola was not the first to be sued on the validity of primaries supervised by Buni’s committee.

After his victory at the Ondo State governorship election held on October 10, 2020, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu was dragged to the election tribunal by his main rival, Eyitayo Jegede of the PDP, on the ground that Akeredolu was not validly nominated as the APC candidate. Jegede and the PDP pursued their case through to the Supreme Court.

Although the suit was dismissed, the Supreme Court’s verdict did not particularly validate the primary election by the Buni-committee. In a splitting decision of four to three, the apex court ruled that the suit lacked merit since the appellants did not include Governor Buni as a defendant.

In fact, both the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court acknowledged that there might have been a violation of section 183 of the constitution.

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The majority verdict of the Supreme Court held that Buni should have been included in the suit while the minority led by Justice Mary Peter-Odili, held that there was no need to join Buni in the suit, since APC was the principal and was made a party.

Oyebanji at risk?

Biodun Oyebanji would be sworn in as the Governor of Ekiti State on October 16. With the judgement nullifying Oyetola’s candidacy in Osun, one wonders if the coast is clear for Oyebanji and the lawmakers elected through primaries supervised by Buni’s CECPC.

Well, we wouldn’t know unless their candidacies are challenged in courts of competent jurisdiction. The judgement against Oyetola is also expected to be challenged in the appellate court. That is, if Oyetola wishes to forge ahead with his case against the election of Adeleke.

By Oluwatobi Odeyinka…

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