A federal high court sitting in Osogbo, Osun state, has rejected a suit seeking to declare Dotun Babayemi as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the July 16 governorship election in the state.
The court declared Ademola Adeleke as the validly elected PDP candidate for the poll. In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel, the judge, held that the primary election conducted at the WOCDIF Centre, Osogbo, on March 8, 2022, produced Babayemi is null and void. During the governorship primary election on March 8, some party chieftains held parallel primaries in the state. In one of the primaries held at Osogbo city stadium, under the supervision of Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, Bayelsa deputy governor, Adeleke was declared the winner.
In the Olagunsoye Oyinlola-backed faction which held its primaries at WOCDIF, Babayemi was declared the winner. In a list of candidates later released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Adeleke was recognized as the duly elected candidate to fly the flag of the PDP in the governorship election in the state.
Babayemi approached the court to challenge the submission and nomination of Adeleke by the PDP to INEC and the validity of the primaries conducted at the stadium.
However, the judge in his judgment ruled in favor of Adeleke.
Ada Peter
